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Prior to the start of the game, lizard-loving animal activist Bobby "Scaler" Jenkins discovers that five extra-dimensional humanoid reptilian creatures - the leader, Looger, and his henchmen Jazz, Rhombus, Bootcamp, and Turbine - have disguised themselves as humans and intend to conquer the multiverse. Looger and his subordinates discover that Scaler knows of their plot and kidnap him; the game opens with Bootcamp interrogating Scaler by electrocuting him. During the torture, Bootcamp, frustrated by Scaler's taunts, accidentally opens an extra-dimensional portal, transforming Scaler into a blue-skinned reptilian humanoid and releasing him from his restraints. Scaler escapes through the portal, and Looger and his henchmen follow after him. Scaler finds himself in an parallel universe where he encounters another reptilian man named Leon, who Scaler notes as having the same name as his estranged father. Leon challenges Scaler to retrieve a lizard egg being incubated in a mysterious mechanism. When Scaler does so and returns the egg to Leon, he persuades Leon to let him help retrieve the rest of the eggs scattered in the multiverse. Leon grudgingly agrees, and reveals that Scaler can exchange Klokkies (balls of energy that Scaler obtains by defeating hostile creatures) with his pet Repodactyl Reppy (a large, six-eyed, flying, laser-shooting, manta-like creature) to improve Scaler's abilities, including sharper claws, camouflage, and the ability to discharge static electricity from his body. Leon also reveals that Scaler can obtain the ability to transform into other creatures by defeating enough of that creature. Among the transformations Scaler obtains during the game are Bakudan (a demonic creature that can spawn bombs at will), Krock (a spiky creature that can curl into a ball and roll at high speeds), Doozum (a flying creature that can shoot sonic projectiles), Fruzard (a frilled chicken-like creature that can shoot projectiles) and Swoom (an amphibious penguin-like creature). As they travel into this strange world of isolated and variegated islands filled with vicious (both humanoid and not) reptiles with the mysterious Leon, aboard Reppy, Scaler discovers more of Looger's secrets. He learns that Looger controls a network of unstable portals that are the only connections between the different dimensions in the "multiverse" through the use of a mysterious device. Any being in control of these portals would have the ability to move freely between the different worlds and even capture them. And that is exactly what Looger plans to do, by mutating and then cloning en masse lizards in the form of horrible mutants. All of this is done in order to invade and conquer every plane of the multiverse. It becomes clear that Scaler must help Leon to rescue all the eggs and stop Looger, or lose all of the universes to darkness. Meanwhile, due to the time spent with Bobby, the long-lost memories of Leon slowly began resurfacing and Scaler discovers that Leon is in fact his father. Years prior, he was a scientist, and while performing an experiment with his invention, the portal compass, he was dragged accidentally by his device into Looger's dimension through a portal, and immediately imprisoned by Looger for years. The tortures inflicted on him by Looger in attempt to make him reveal more about his technology left Leon an amnesiac, stripping him from most of his memories. Only now is he able to escape the lonely island, where he had met his son. So Leon never, as Bobby thought, abandoned him and his mother. Leon is overjoyed to not only finally remember who he is, but also to see his son again, who has become a great hero. However, Scaler struggles a little to accept the truth and accept a father who for so long time he have thought being "a loser freak," who forced his mother to take two jobs to scrape by. In the end, however, he forgives his father, as after all it wasn't his fault at all. After defeating Jazz, Rhombus, Turbine, Bootcamp and a few of the mutant monsters, all the while rescuing the 20 remaining lizard eggs, Scaler and Leon arrive at Looger's stronghold. After defeating him and reclaiming the portal compass, they rush to a last portal meant to bring them home but Leon, having returned behind to save an egg fallen from a hole in Scaler's sack, remains on the other side of the portal while Bobby crosses over it. Bobby is back in Looger's basement, and it at last occurs to him that his father did not make it in time. The portal closes, leaving Bobby screaming in horror for having, again, lost his father. By unlocking the secret ending, an unexpected event takes place: as Leon said, if the player alters the multiverse by any means, it can produce unpredictable effects, even the merging of different versions of history. So, when Bobby screams in horror from the second loss of his father, the basement door opens behind him, and his father stands in its frame, concerned by the sudden scream. By defeating Looger, Bobby did in fact alter time, and Leon was never captured by the evil reptile overlord, meaning that he technically never left his family. Quite the opposite has happened in this timeframe, and the Jenkins family are living together in that same house that Looger would have owned. Bobby is overjoyed but soon discovers that he still has his chameleon tongue, and the reflex to eat flies, much to his own disgust. Not much later, Leon returns to the basement again, revealing by a monologue to the player (breaking the fourth wall), that he in fact maintained the memories of his journey with Bobby, despite pretending just before to not remember anything, and that he has kept the portal compass, expressing his nostalgia of Reppy and hoping that in future there will be more adventures. 

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The story starts with Babe finishing his canned army rations. He makes small talk with a comrade and looks for a fox hole to rest in. He silently prays that he will not be hit for not digging his own trench, but he is in too much discomfort to dig one himself. He finds a "kraut hole" with a bloody blanket still there. He settles into the hole and tries to get comfortable in the confined space. When he is bitten by a red ant he tries to slap the offending insect and is painfully reminded of a fingernail he lost earlier in the day. He then plays a childish mindgame, imagining his finger healed, his body clean and well-clothed, safe and at home "with a nice, quiet girl". After reading a newspaper clipping and tossing it away, Babe re-reads a letter from his sister Matilda for the "thirty-oddth" time. She asks him over and over if he is in France. Their mother trusts (hopes against hope) that he is still safe in England but Matilda has guessed the truth, that her brother is in harm's way. She also keeps him updated on recent happenings at home (including her opinion of two of his former girlfriends, Jackie and Frances, both mentioned in "Last Day of the Last Furlough"), and wishes that he will come home soon. 

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Pitfall is set against the background of labour relations in the Japanese mining industry, but the film owes as much to surrealism as it does to "socially aware" drama. The mine in the film is divided into two pits, the old one and the new one, each represented by a different trade union faction. A mysterious man in white, whose identity we never learn, murders an unemployed miner who bears an uncanny resemblance to the union leader at the old pit and bribes the only witness to frame the union leader of the new pit. The two union leaders go to the murder scene to investigate only to come across the body of the witness, who has subsequently been killed by the man in white. They blame one another and begin a fight which ends in both their deaths. The film ends with the man in white observing them before riding off on his motorcycle, satisfied his mission is complete. Beyond this realistic plot, Pitfall shows us the realm of the dead as well as the living, as the ghosts of the victims look on, powerless to intervene in events and bring the truth to light. 

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The setting is the type of benign Venus imagined before the first space probes penetrated the clouds of that planet. Colonization has become stymied by the native inhabitants (loudies), who are apparently sentient bubbles that float around the landscape, getting in the way of human progress. Attempts to communicate with them produce no response. Confining them is useless (they drift back) and killing them produces a deadly explosion that contaminates a thousand acres (4 km²). The non-Chinese authorities of the early Instrumentality government have no answer. The ruler of Goonhogo (the entity that replaced China under the early Instrumentality) decrees that 82 million Chinesians (men, women, and children) be dropped from space, parachuting down to the surface. Each one has a simple mission — herd the bubbles together. Many die in the process, both in landing and from the bubbles exploding. The rest corralled the loudies together into herds, where they eventually starve, wiping out the species. Meanwhile, more Chinese parachute down with rice seeds and begin planting. Eventually, by sheer weight of numbers, the Chinese conquer Venus. Smith's point in the story is evidently to demonstrate how Chinese attitudes such as fatalism and obedience to authority, coupled with their large numbers, could outperform the "Yankee ingenuity" and "self-reliant individual" attitudes predominant in mainstream 1950s American science fiction of the time. (However, it is implied that the separate Chinese government and Chinese ethnic identity of the time of the Venus colonization no longer exist in the same form by the time of the story's "frame" interview.) 

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Two weeks before high school graduation and the geography of 18-year-old Adam Westman's life is about to change dramatically. Many of the familiar landmarks will remain—his best friend Dart riding shotgun; the suburban house where he lives with his dad and younger sister; and the numerous on-ramps and off-ramps that connect him to his hometown of Angelito in the center of centerless Los Angeles. But when death and love, perhaps, arrive unexpectedly, Adam must learn that trouble sometimes has to rumble through a tidy world to make room for the kind of magical connections that make life worth living. 

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Lobby card Young Jim Hawkins (Jackie Cooper) and his mother (Dorothy Peterson) run the Admiral Benbow, a tavern near Bristol, England. One dark and stormy night, during a birthday celebration, the mysterious Billy Bones (Lionel Barrymore) arrives and drunkenly talks about treasure. Soon after, Bones is visited by Black Dog (Charles McNaughton) then Pew (William V. Mong), and drops dead, leaving a chest, which he bragged contained gold and jewels. Instead of money, Jim finds a map that his friend Dr. Livesey (Otto Kruger) realizes will lead them to the famous Flint treasure. Squire Trelawney (Nigel Bruce) raises money for a voyage to the treasure island and they set sail on Captain Alexander Smollett's (Lewis Stone) ship Hispaniola. Also on board is the one-legged Long John Silver (Wallace Beery) and his cronies. Even though Bones had warned Jim about a sailor with one leg, they become friends. During the voyage, several fatal "accidents" happen to sailors who disapprove of Silver and his cohorts. Then, the night before landing on the island, Jim overhears Silver plotting to take the treasure and kill Smollett's men. Jim goes ashore with the men, and encounters an old hermit named Ben Gunn (Chic Sale), who tells him that he has found Flint's treasure. Meanwhile, Smollett (Lewis Stone) and his loyal men flee to Flint's stockade on the island for safety. Silver's men then attack the stockade when Smollett refuses to give them the treasure map. While the situation looks hopeless, Jim secretly goes back to the Hispaniola at night, sails it to a safe location and shoots one of the pirates in self-defense. When he returns to the stockade, Silver's men are there and Silver tells them that a treaty has been signed. The pirates want to kill Jim, but Silver protects him. Dr. Livesey comes for Jim, but the boy refuses to break his word to Silver not to run away. The next day the pirates search for the treasure hold and when they find it, it is empty. When some of the pirates mutiny against Silver, Livesey and Gunn join him in the fight. Smollett then sails home with the treasure, which Gunn had hidden in his cave, and with Silver as his prisoner. Unable to stand by and let his friend be hanged, Jim frees Silver. As he sails away, Silver promises to hunt treasure with Jim again some day, as Honest John Silver. 

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Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman visit the Fortress of Solitude with gifts on Superman's birthday. They find him catatonic, with an alien plant wrapped around his body. The alien conqueror Mongul reveals himself, explaining that the plant – the "Black Mercy" – has incapacitated Superman while it consumes his bio-aura, feeding him a realistic dream based on his heart's deepest desire. In his catatonic state, Superman dreams of a normal life on his long-destroyed home planet of Krypton, happily married to Lyla Lerrol with children. While Wonder Woman battles the more powerful Mongul, Batman and Robin try to free Superman. Superman's fantasy takes a dark turn as his father Jor-El, whose prediction of Krypton's doom was unfulfilled, has become discredited and embittered. Superman's mother Lara has died from the "Eating Sickness", further isolating Jor-El from his family. Even the death of his brother Zor-El has not reconciled Jor-El to his sister-in-law Alura and niece Kara Zor-El. Kryptonian society undergoes political upheaval, and the disgraced Jor-El has become chairman of extremist movement “the Sword of Rao", calling for a return to Krypton's "noble and unspoiled" past through the establishment of a totalitarian theocracy under the leadership of Brother Lor-Em. The Phantom Zone, Krypton's other-dimensional prison system developed by Jor-El, has become unpopular with the public. Kara Zor-El is assaulted by anti-Zone protesters, for whom the criminal Jax-Ur, sentenced to an eternity in the Zone, is a martyr. Kal-El decides to leave the city, only to witness Jor-El presiding over a political demonstration reminiscent of a Fascist rally, which dissolves into a riot between anti-Zone protesters and the Sword of Rao. Superman gradually wakes from his increasingly disturbing dream, which finally dissolves as his "son" Van-El slips away at the Kandor crater. Batman pries the Mercy from Superman's chest, and the plant latches on to him instead, submerging Batman in his own dream, in which his parents’ murder is prevented when Thomas Wayne disarms Joe Chill. Superman awakens, infuriated by the Mercy's attack, and attacks Mongul before he can kill Wonder Woman. They battle across the Fortress, causing massive damage. Robin uses Mongul's discarded gauntlets to pry the Mercy off Batman, stuffing the plant inside a gauntlet to carry it safely toward the battle. Subduing Mongul, Superman is distracted by the sight of the statues of his parents, and Mongul gains the upper hand, but Robin drops the Mercy on him. Seized by the plant, Mongul is submerged in his own fantasy, in which he swats the Mercy aside and kills the heroes, going on to conquer Earth and the universe. Tending to their wounds, Batman mentions to Wonder Woman that his fantasy included him marrying Kathy Kane and having a teenage daughter, while Wonder Woman confesses envy that she did not find out her heart's desire. Planning to imprison Mongul in a black hole across the galaxy, Superman unwraps his gifts. Wonder Woman brought a replica of Kandor made by the "gem-smiths" of Paradise Island, prompting Superman to hide his own replica of the Bottle City at super-speed. Batman’s gift turns out to be another plant – a new breed of rose named “The Krypton” – which was stepped on during the fight. Musing that it is perhaps for the best, Superman asks that someone make coffee while he cleans up the Fortress. Deep in his fantasy, Mongul is content. 

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Mrs. Marva Munson, a strict, religious and elderly widow, meets "Professor" Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, a southern classicist and Edgar Allan Poe enthusiast who expresses interest in the room she has for rent and asks to use her root cellar for rehearsals of an early music ensemble he directs, to which she agrees. The fellow musicians in the pretend ensemble are actually a gang of criminals. The band are composed of a dim football player named Lump as the "muscle", the overconfident movie effects technician Garth Pancake as the "jack of all trades" (who suffers from IBS), the crass and sloppy Gawain McSam as their "inside man", and the Vietnamese, tough-as-nails General as their "tunneling expert" (who hides his chain smoking from the disapproving Mrs. Munson by concealing his cigarette in his mouth). The group of criminals plan to dig a tunnel through the exposed wall in the cellar in order to break into the underground vault for a nearby riverboat casino. The dirt they remove is taken out at night and tossed off a bridge onto a garbage barge as it passes below. A series of mishaps threaten to derail their plan, including "inside man" Gawain losing his janitorial job at the casino, Mrs. Munson's cat Pickles running off with Garth's finger when he accidentally sets a plastic explosive off in his hand, and a visit from the local sheriff. Nonetheless, the group manages to break through the wall of the vault and snatch the loot. Before the group can get away, Mrs. Munson uncovers the plot and tells Dorr to return the money and go with her to church on Sunday, or face the authorities. Dorr attempts to persuade her otherwise, by claiming that the casino's insurance company will replace the money, resulting in each shareholder only losing a single penny. He also claims he will donate a full share of the stolen funds to Bob Jones University, a Bible college which Mrs. Munson admires, but she insists on her judgment. The gang decides they have no choice but to murder her. None of them are eager to kill an old woman so they draw straws. The task falls to Gawain but he fails to go through with it after he realizes Mrs. Munson reminds him of his mother. This starts a fight between Garth and Gawain which results in Gawain being fatally shot with his own gun; the group dumps his body off the bridge onto the trash barge. Garth then attempts to steal the entire sum of money and escape with his girlfriend, "Mountain Girl," but the General kills them both with a garotte wire and discards their bodies onto the barge. After drawing lots again, the General is about to kill Mrs. Munson in her sleep, concealing his cigarette in his mouth as per usual. He is suddenly startled by a cuckoo clock, accidentally swallowing his cigarette. In a frenzied search for water, The General trips over Mrs. Munson's cat and falls down the stairs to his death. As Lump and Dorr dispose of The General's body onto the barge, Lump has a change of heart and tells Dorr he wants to do what Mrs. Munson says. When Dorr refuses, Lump attempts to shoot him with a revolver but the chamber is empty; he peers down the barrel and accidentally shoots himself with the round that was in the next chamber, falling off the bridge onto the barge. Dorr, now alone, pauses to admire a passing raven and recite poetry until the raven dislodges the head of a crumbling grotesque on top of the bridge. The head falls, knocking Dorr over the railing, and his cape gets caught on the ironwork and breaks his neck, killing him instantly. As the barge passes under the bridge, the fabric tears and he too falls onto it. Finding the stolen money in her basement, Mrs. Munson believes that the criminals have fled and left it behind. She informs the police about the money, but they think she is insane and tell her to keep it; she decides to donate it to Bob Jones. The movie closes by showing Pickles dropping Garth's severed finger onto the barge. 

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Chauvel's film uses introductory enacted scenes showing the mutiny, followed by documentary footage, anthropological style, of the mutineers' descendants on Pitcairn Island. Chauvel also used footage of Polynesian women dancers; and film of an underwater shipwreck, filmed with a glass bottomed boat, which he believed was the Bounty but was probably not. This was Chauvel's first 'talkie' and he had clearly at this stage not yet learned to direct actors: the dialogue is very stiff and amateurish.Curator's notes at Australian Screen The use of long sections of documentary footage with a voice over, combined with acted scenes, is similar to the hybrid silent and talking pictures that were produced during the transition to sound. It also represents the combination of interests of the director, and he returned to documentary toward the end of his career with the BBC television series Walkabout.Review on Reel Classics website Despite the poorly written dialogue,Charles Chauvel at Australian screen the documentary sections retain their excellence. A return to enactments at the end of the film, with one scripted modern scene in which a child suffers because of the lack of regular ship visits which could have taken the child to hospital, probably sought to make the film a useful voice for the Pitcairn Island community, who had been generous with their participation. The film mixed re-enactments with documentary, and focused not so much on the mutiny itself as on its consequences.Curators notes at Australian Screen 

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The film displays images of properties and later that it was a short skit created by Toko, Kohei and Shinichi. They discuss the result of their work and the story zooms in to the game again. After her mother suffered maternal death, Nami receives the will of her deceased father she has inherited a fortune. The next day, an illustrator called Nami enter the workroom of three adolescents. Toko thanks Nami for her drawing and Shinichi praises Nami's work. Nami meets Kohei on the rooftop. They used to be a couple, but they broke up and now Kohei is using Nami as his model in the game they develop. The scene shifts to a car. Nami tells Kohei that she was wondering why she was abandoned. Kohei tells her that her mother died when she was born and her father could not have raised her alone. Then they arrive at a big abandoned house where Nami was born. Nami tells Kohei about her dreams while Kohei records everything using his handicam. The caretaker of the house approaches them and hands Nami the house key. Both of them enter the gate and Kohei notices that the garden is full with St. John's Wort. Nami tells him that the plant was the last word of the aunt who raised her and Kohei said that the meaning of it is revenge in very old poems. Inside the house, Kohei records every details with the handicam and notices a staircase and asks Nami whether it is the same as the staircase that she saw in her dream but Nami said it was not. Kohei then admires paintings made by Kaizawa Soichi hung on the wall and we learn that actually he was Nami's father. Nami tries to unlock a door but the key did not fit. Then both of them go to explore the rooms that were connected to the main hall. They find a portrait of Kaizawa Soichi made of oil painting hung on the wall and move to the kitchen. Kohei then tells Nami that she must have gotten her talent from her father. When they return to the main hall, Nami stares at a portrait of a woman that they suspect is a portrait of her mother. They move upstairs and find a room full with porcelain dolls. They enter another room and see a portrait of a baby girl and crib. Next to the room was a room with a small table with playing cards on top of it and two chairs facing each other and a cupboard. They later head to the hall. 

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The book follows Pellam as he tries to prove the innocence of an old woman, Ettie, whom he had interviewed for a documentary on the area of New York City referred to as Hell's Kitchen. When Ettie's apartment catches fire, she is blamed for the crime and jailed. Pellam believes she is innocent and is determined to prove it and set her free. Along the way he meets several characters who try to interrupt his search as it uncovers many underlying crimes of different people. All the while, the real arsonist, a man named Sonny, has been continuing to burn buildings and chase Pellam. Towards the end of the book, Sonny finally confronts Pellam, attempting to kill him (and Sonny himself in the process). However, just when it appears Pellam is about to die, two friends he has made along his investigation come to his aid and save him from Sonny. Pellam gathers the evidence needed to prove Ettie innocent and she is set free. Category:2001 American novels Category:Novels by Jeffery Deaver Category:Crime novels Category:Pocket Books books Category:Novels set in New York City 

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The hero is an adult orphan, just under twenty years of age, with bright red hair and a freckled complexion. His right hand is missing at the wrist, and has been since before he can remember. Raised since infancy in a Chicago orphanage, he speaks with a slight Irish accent, "scarcely definite enough to be called a brogue." Exhausted after days of walking and looking like a hobo, he applies for a job with the Grand Rapids lumber company, guarding timber in the Limberlost Swamp. McLean, part owner, organizer and field manager of the large company, and enthralled with the Limberlost, is impressed by the boy's polite assertiveness and hires him despite his youth and disability. He gives his name only as "Freckles", insisting that he has no name of his own. He claims the name given him in the orphanage (which we never learn) "is no more my name than it is yours". Freckles asks McLean to choose a name for him to put down on the books. McLean gives Freckles the name of his own father, James Ross McLean. Freckles' duty is to twice a day walk the perimeter of the lumber company's land, a seven-mile trek through lonely swampland, and to be on the watch for those who aim to steal the expensive timber. McLean's chief worry is Black Jack Carter, who has sworn to smuggle several priceless trees out of the swamp. Freckles' weapons are limited to a revolver and a stout stick which he carries at all times and uses to test the wire that marks the company's boundaries. At night Freckles boards with Duncan, head teamster for the lumber company, and Duncan's wife, who becomes a mother figure to Freckles. Initially terrified of the wilderness after a lifetime in an urban environment, Freckles first conquers his fears, aided by exploration of the Limberlost during its barrenness in the severe winter, and feeds the fickle birds ("my chickens" he calls them) that had once frightened him. With the return of spring and the terror of its inhabitants gone, he develops an interest in the wildlife of the swamp. He is touched by the beauty he sees, and both frustration at his ignorance and curiosity about all he sees lead him, with McLean's help, to purchase several books on natural history. McLean is touched by Freckles' love of nature and urges him to collect specimens, although he warns him against ever killing a bird. Freckles creates a "room" in the swamp, where he has transplanted the most unusual plant specimens he can find. After a year in the swamp, his hard work and faithfulness lead McLean to bet skeptics a thousand dollars (the value of a single tree among the most valuable) that they can't show him a fresh stump from a tree stolen under Freckles' watch, a wager that threatens to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Freckles gets an opportunity to prove his capabilities as a guard when Wessner, a recently fired lumberman, comes upon Freckles on his rounds and offers him five hundred dollars to look the other way while Black Jack’s gang of thieves steals a prime tree next to the trail. After initially playing dumb to gain information, Freckles puts his gun and stick aside and fights Wessner using only his one fist. He wins, although severely pummeled, and drives Wessner from the swamp. McLean finds him and takes him back to the Duncans over his protests. The boy warns him about the imperiled tree and McLean arranges to have his own crew remove it immediately. The next afternoon, while he is reading in his room in the swamp, recovering from his beating and taking refuge from the heat of the day, a lovely girl about sixteen years of age appears looking for him. Freckles instantly falls in love with her for her courage as much as her beauty, as she is not afraid of rattlesnakes. The girl's name is never given, but she has come to the swamp with a local photographer known as the Bird Woman and has become lost. Freckles doctors a cut she received on the arm looking for him to lead her out of the swamp, conducts her back to her carriage, and dubs her "the Swamp Angel." He is pleased when the Angel tells him that she and the Bird Woman encountered McLean on the road, who told them about his "son" and how proud he was of him. That night he returns to the swamp to continue his vigil and encounters McLean, who says he loves Freckles and is going to make him his son. McLean gives Freckles a second revolver for extra protection. In the days that follow, the Bird Woman comes to the swamp often to photograph bird nests while Freckles sings for the Swamp Angel and shows her the wonders of the swamp. One day the Bird Woman spots Wessner and Black Jack in the process of sawing down a tree. Although Freckles' first instinct is to protect the women, the Bird Woman devises a plan to foil the theft, telling Freckles to give the Angel one of his revolvers and producing one of her own. Under the cover of the swamp the three drive off the thieves. Her skill with a gun gives Freckles further reason to love the Swamp Angel. The next day he returns he Angel's hat that she left behind during the fracas to her father at work, rather than going to her home, and this gentlemanly behavior makes a positive impression. While Freckles secretly worships the Swamp Angel, he believes himself to be far below her in social class and meaning nothing to her. Freckles is given the use of a bicycle to alert the camp swiftly should the thieves appear again. In spite of these precautions, Black Jack ambushes Freckles at dawn, spilling him from his bicycle, and captures him. His gang, all deserters from McLean's crew, tie him to a tree in the room and begin to cut down a valuable tree in its wall. After they finish, Freckles is to be left for Wessner to kill personally, and his body will be hidden so that it will look like he joined the thieves, killing his reputation as well. However, the Swamp Angel finds them, pretends to think they are on official camp business, flirts with Black Jack to make him trust her, and rides off on Freckles' bicycle. She sends Mrs. Duncan to warn the Bird Woman on the other side of the swamp and rides off to bring help. Despite crashing the bicycle she reaches the camp and urges the crew to hurry. When the reinforcements return, led by the Angel, they finds that the Bird Woman has shot Black Jack in the arm and captured both him and Wessner. Freckles is found bound and gagged, and bleeding from a blow to the head, but has not lost his courage. The Angel frees him from his bonds and hugs him, during which Black Jack makes a break for freedom and runs into the swamp. The fallen logs are recovered but Black Jack has sworn revenge on Freckles and the Swamp Angel, and a thorough search of the Limberlost fails to find him. For a week, Freckles pushes himself to the point of exhaustion by guarding the trees during the day and the home of the Swamp Angel at night. Finally, it is discovered the Black Jack was killed by the creatures of the swamp, and Freckles is able to relax his watch. He and the Swamp Angel find several trees that Black Jack had marked, but when the last one is felled it nearly crushes the Swamp Angel. Freckles rushes toward her and pushes her out of danger, but the blow from the tree falls on him instead, and smashes almost all the bones in his chest. The Swamp Angel and her father rush him to the finest hospital in Chicago, but Freckles' belief that the Swamp Angel deserves a better husband causes him almost to lose the will to live. He fears that he is descended from criminals, who abused their baby and cut off his hand intentionally. The Swamp Angel declares her love for Freckles, assures him that—since "thistles grow from thistles, and lilies from other lilies"—he must be descended from upright and good- hearted people, "a lily, straight through", who "never, never could have drifted from the thistle-patch". She promises that she will find his parents and prove that Freckles comes from "a race of men that have been gentlemen for ages, and couldn't be anything else." Her inquiries at his former orphanage lead her to Lord and Lady O’More, Irish nobility who have been searching Chicago for Lord O’More’s lost nephew. They prove themselves to be kind and noble, and explain that Freckles' father had been disinherited when he married a clergyman’s daughter, and both had perished in the fire that took his hand. Freckles' true name is Terence Maxwell O’More of Dunderry House in County Clare. The virtue of his parents proven, Freckles revives and becomes engaged to marry the Swamp Angel. With the help of McLean, whom he still regards as a foster father, Freckles plans out what the next few years will hold. Rather than go to Ireland and live as a lord, he will go to college in the United States and then join McLean in managing the lumber company, so that he can always be near the Limberlost. 

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Maria Teresa is a woman accustomed to living in the city, but she has to move to live at ‘La Tormenta’, her family’s estate, to try to save her family from financial ruin. The family is facing economic problems and she thinks La Tormenta will save them from bankruptcy. 

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The Winthrop Woman begins with young Elizabeth Fones and her family travelling to visit their family at their grandfather's countryside estate. Elizabeth's uncle, John Winthrop, is especially pious and strict about Protestantism; and he chides his sister for not taking proper care of her children, Elizabeth in particular, who is hot- headed and capricious. Elizabeth is caught blaspheming and is beaten, resulting in her becoming areligious and instilling in her a hatred for her uncle. Years later, Elizabeth Fones has become a beautiful young woman working in her ailing father's apothecary. Though she is in love with her cousin John ("Jack") Winthrop, Jr., it is Jack's friend Edward Howes who seeks to marry her. Just as she becomes engaged to Howes, her cousin Henry Winthrop (or "Harry"), Jack's younger brother, returns from his adventures in Barbados. Unlike his father and brother, Harry is wild and carefree, reckless to the point that he has depleted all his money and nearly brought his family to financial ruin. Unwilling to return to his father, Harry instead stays at Thomas Fones's house and spends his time frolicking with his equally profligate friends. One night, Harry and Elizabeth spend an especially long night out, their lust overcomes them, and they sleep together in a garden. In yet another reckless act, Harry declares that he is in love with Elizabeth and demands her hand in marriage. The couple are wed, much to the dismay of both fathers (John Winthrop both believes that his son could do better than a Fones and is not fond of Elizabeth; Thomas Fones is dismayed because his daughter was already engaged to marry Edward Howes). Elizabeth and Harry move to the Winthrop estate in the countryside (John Winthrop no longer resides there as he has taken a position elsewhere). For a while, the couple live a happy life. However, it soon becomes obvious just how profligate Harry is as he neglects his wife and family to have his own fun. In the meantime, Jack returns. It is apparent that he and Elizabeth still have strong feelings for each other; but, while attempting to cover his feelings for his brother's wife, Jack accidentally kisses Martha, Elizabeth's younger sister, and soon the two are wed. Finally, in an attempt to control his son, John Winthrop forces Harry to come to New England with him. In a final act of recklessness, Harry drowns when he attempts to jump in and swim. Elizabeth is left a pregnant widow. After she gives birth to her daughter (Martha), she, Jack, Martha, and John Winthrop's wife, Margaret, all depart for Massachusetts. In the strict colony in the New World, Elizabeth runs into more trouble than ever. On her uncle's suggestion, Elizabeth marries Robert Feake, a weak-willed and strangely disturbed man who often has nightmares and commits odd deeds in his sleep. She also attempts to befriend Anne Hutchinson and chooses a tainted Indian woman, Telaka, for her maid. Eventually, Elizabeth and Robert are driven out of their house in Watertown because the other colonists believe Telaka to be a witch. The Feakes then settle in Greenwich in the colony of New Haven. After run-ins with Indians, Elizabeth and the other leader of the town, Daniel Patrick, join Greenwich to the Dutch colony of New Netherland. After Daniel Patrick is murdered by an old enemy, Elizabeth's husband, Robert, becomes completely mad and attempts to return to England. Meanwhile, Joan marries Thomas Lyons, who turns out to be a prospective gold-digger. When William Hallet, a previous acquaintance of Elizabeth's, begins courting her and gains more and more control over the Feake household, Lyons grows jealous. Finally, Elizabeth and her lover are accused of adultery after not having married properly under English law, and all their lands are confiscated. Elizabeth and William Hallet hide under the protection of Jack Winthrop, who is now an important member of another town in Connecticut. After Jack does all he can for his cousin and ex- lover, Elizabeth and William Hallet are once more free to move back to Greenwich, where Indians then set their house afire. Elizabeth and William Hallet have no choice but to start anew once more, their hearts heavy but their wills strengthened. 

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Kim and Matt, with the help of Tabor and Imraith-Nimphais, rescue the Paraiko. Ruana, their leader, chants kanior—a ritual of forgiveness and lamentation for the dead that is tied to the Paraiko's non-violent nature and the bloodcurse that protects them. So powerful is his performance that it invokes not only all the Paraiko that have died through the centuries but even their enemies; both he and Kim sense a finality in it, as is proven when the Baelrath blazes and summons Kim to change the Paraiko's pacifist natures so they can fight against Maugrim. Due to the loss of their pacifism, however, the magical bloodcurse that had protected the Paraiko for centuries was also lost forever. Kim returns to Ysanne's cottage where she meets Darien and gives him the Circlet of Lisen. As she puts it on his head, the light of the gem goes out, and Darien interprets this as a sign that he is evil. In despair he takes Lökdal, the dagger that Ysanne used to kill herself, and flees. Kim calls after him to tell him where his mother is, hoping that Jennifer will be able to comfort him. Jennifer, waiting in Lisen's tower for Prydwen to return, listens to Flidais' tale of the Wild Hunt and how its randomness, being outside the Weaver's control, gifts the Weaver's creatures with freedom of choice. That wildness also made Maugrim possible; and because Maugrim came from outside the Tapestry there is no thread in it with his name on it, Flidais explains, and so he cannot die. Darien arrives at the tower, looking for love and acceptance. Believing as she does that their only hope lies in leaving Darien completely free, Jennifer tells him simply that he must make his own choice and that she will not influence it, except to say that his father wanted her dead so that he would never be born. Darien believes that his choice was made for him when the light of Lisen's Circlet went out and so departs to seek his father. Prydwen returns in the midst of a terrible storm and Jennifer immediately sends Lancelot away, charging him to follow Darien and protect him. Lancelot battles an ancient stone creature of the wood, a demon named Curdardh, only managing to defeat it with Darien's help. In a moment of clarity Darien realizes that his mother sent him away because she is not afraid of what he will do if he is left free to choose: she trusts him. Lancelot finally loses sight of Darien as he crosses Daniloth in the form of a white owl. Meanwhile, the Dalrei, the lios alfar, and the men of Brennin and Cathal are gathering on the plain to face Maugrim's army. Jaelle's view of men as lesser beings has been challenged by Kevin's unflinching sacrifice and she and Paul/Pwyll begin to tentatively shape a friendship. As they talk on the shore below Lisen's Tower, a ghostly ship appears to take all of them to Andarien in time to meet Aileron and the rest of the host of the Light. Loren, Matt and Kim return to the kingdom of the dwarves where Matt competes against Kaen and Blöd to regain his rightful position as King of the Dwarves. The Crystal Dragon of Calor Diman awakens but despite the blazing summons of the Baelrath, Kim refuses to bind it to help them against Maugrim, realizing that she still has the power to choose and that there is a point where the ends do not justify the means. She uses the ring's power instead to take Loren, Matt and herself to the Plain in time for Matt to reclaim the Dwarves and lead them to join the rest of the forces opposing Maugrim's hordes. A giant urgach issues a challenge to single combat and Arthur, hearing that the name of the plain was once Camlann, recognizes that his time has come: "I never see the end." But while they debate, Diarmuid seizes the moment and takes the challenge on himself. He fights brilliantly and kills the urgach but is mortally wounded, and dies in Sharra's arms. The next morning the battle begins. Among Maugrim's army are Avaia and her black brood of swans and, more terribly, a giant black dragon. Kim, realizing that it was for this the Baelrath had demanded the Crystal Dragon, is sick with self-reproach but Imraith-Nimphais and Tabor fight valiantly and kill many of the swans. Finally, realizing there is only one way to defeat the dragon, the unicorn shakes Tabor from her back midair and plunges into the dragon's heart, killing both herself and the dragon. Tabor is saved from his death plunge by magical intervention. Despite this unexpected victory, the battle is not going well for the Light as Darien arrives in Starkadh. He faces his father in a room at the top of a tower whose windows magically reflect the battle going on miles away. Maugrim tries to batter his way into Darien's mind, and when he fails guesses who Darien is. Realizing that a child of his getting binds him into the Loom and thus makes him mortal, he gloats that now he will kill Darien himself and thus restore his immortality. He takes Lökdal from Darien; Darien, seeing the horror and death on the battlefield, at last makes his choice for the Light. When he does so, Lisen's Circlet blazes up, temporarily blinding Maugrim; in that moment Darien steps forward onto the knife, and so Maugrim kills without love in his heart and the curse of Lökdal destroys him. The tide of battle turns and Maugrim's army scatters, but Galadan, who since Lisen's death a thousand years ago has wanted nothing more than the annihilation of everything, blows Owein's Horn to summon the Wild Hunt. They arrive, but before they can begin to destroy everything in Fionavar Leila, far away in Paras Derval but still linked to Finn, slams the double-headed axe down on the altar and demands in the name of the Goddess that he come home. When Finn tries to turn his horse, Iselin throws him and he falls to his death. Ruana of the Paraiko arrives and, telling Owien that since they have once again lost the Child who leads them they must be returned to their slumber, binds them once again as Connla did so long ago—though he comforts them by saying that one day they will be free again. Paul, recognizing that Galadan's ability to hear the Horn means that he is not altogether evil, leaves him free to go, and Cernan takes him away to find healing. Paul then calls the sea in to wash the plain clean; with the sea comes a boat, and Jennifer/Guinevere, Lancelot and Arthur (who has survived to see the end) are also freed from their penance and sail away together at last. Paul decides to stay in Fionavar with Jaelle, who has stepped aside as High Priestess in favor of Leila. Ceinwen, the Goddess of the Hunt, appears one last time to Dave and reminds him that he cannot remain in Fionavar, but as a final gift she asks him what he would name a child of the andain, a son, if he had one. He chooses the name "Kevin" and he and Kim return to our world. Category:1986 Canadian novels Category:Novels by Guy Gavriel Kay 

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Four childhood friends, Will, Brian, Corey, and Matt, have had a dream since they were kids to surf, skate, and snowboard across California. After graduating from junior college, they decide to make the trip, but have to save money first. Through their jobs life-guarding children's swimming pools and working at Turkish restaurants they manage to save $847.53, enough to cross California in their Joyota; a Jeep refitted with a Toyota engine. They decide to go to Mexico where they surf at Larosarita. Corey receives a phone call and is told of the unexpected death of his grandfather, "Grandpa G.", who left him an inheritance including a car, which Corey must travel to Yakima, Washington to pick up. The friends, who all knew Grandpa G., accompany him, counting on being able to pay for the return trip with the inheritance money. On the way, the group runs into Matt's beautiful cousin Jessie, who needs a ride to Seattle because her car has broken down. Brian is immediately infatuated with her, but she avoids him, only increasing his desire for her. Corey makes a bet with Brian that he will not be able to get Jessie to do one thing he wants her to do by the end of the trip. As the trip continues, Jessie and Brian get closer, but Jessie has difficulties trusting Brian and his intentions toward her due to past experiences. She knew all along about the bet, but because of her convictions and some harsh words from Brian, she decides to leave, although it hurts her. In low spirits, the boys arrive at the home of Grandma G in Washington, only to find that the car Corey has inherited is a junk car. Unable to get home, they are forced to sell the car to get money for the trip home. In a newspaper, Matt sees five tickets to Alaska on sale for $500. With the help of Grandma G, they sell the car online for $1,500. Brian knows he messed up with Jessie and regrets his behaviour. Hoping to win her back, Brian and the others head to the University of Washington where she is giving a freshman orientation. Brian apologizes for what he did, telling Jessie he's never known anyone like her and that she woke him up. He asks her to come with them, but she tearfully says that she cannot. Matt gives her a plane ticket before the four friends leave. Brian waits at the airport for Jessie hopefully, but she does not come. As he takes his seat, his phone starts ringing; it is Jessie, who is sitting in the back of the plane. 

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In 1848, convict Joe is assigned as a labourer to settled Isaac Bowman in Western Australia. Joe escapes and takes refuge with a tribe of aborigines led by Te Mana Roa, who tell him about a mountain of gold. Bowman recaptures Joe, who tells him about the mine. Bowman goes to the mine, kills the chief and loads his horse with gold, but ends up perishing in the desert, leaving Joe with his aboriginal friends. 

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Julia, an art restorer and evaluator living in Madrid, discovers a painted-over message on a 1471 Flemish masterpiece called La partida de ajedrez (The Chess Game) which reads "Quis Necavit Equitem", written in Latin (English: "Who killed the knight?"). The painting appears as the cover of the book in some editions. With the help of her old friend and father-figure, an antiques dealer named César, and Muñoz, a quiet local chess master, Julia works to uncover the mystery of a 500-year-old murder. At the same time, Julia faces danger of her own, as several people helping her along her search are also murdered. 

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In this fantasy adventure, four children — Penny, the leader; Pamela, her common-sense sister; Peter, whose life's ambition is to become a garbageman; and Patsy, who collects frogs in her pockets — set out in search of their baby brother, Paul, better known as “The Pollywog,” who has vanished mysteriously from their playhouse. Accompanied by their fearless pets, the children descend through a secret trapdoor into a strange underground world of mushrooms, whose green inhabitants know only one word: “OG!” 

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Alice Bonnard (Charlotte Alexandra) is a 14-year-old girl attending a boarding school in France who comes back to her home in the Landes forest for the summer of 1963. She flashes back to her time at school, where she frequently masturbated out of boredom; in one scene, she inserts a spoon into her vagina. Her father (Bruno Balp) hires a young man named Jim (Hiram Keller), with whom Alice immediately becomes infatuated. Alice has a graphic sexual fantasy in which Jim ties her to the ground with barbed wire and attempts to insert an earthworm into her vagina. When the earthworm will not fit, Jim tears it into small pieces and puts them in Alice's pubic hair. At a carnival, a middle-aged man exposes himself to her on a ride. She then arrives home and imagines seeing her father's penis. She exposes herself to Jim, and the two masturbate in front of each other, to Alice's chagrin. She discovers her father is having an affair, and Jim tries pressuring her into having sex. He is then shot and killed by a trap that Alice's father set up to keep wild boar out of his maize field. 

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Sydney teenager Jackie Mullens works as a barmaid in her mother's failing hotel pub, but dreams of becoming a singing star. Her scheming 14-year-old cousin Angus aspires to be her manager. At a local club talent night, Jackie's performance impresses pop band The Wombats, who become her backing band. Jackie also begins dating the band's guitarist, Robbie. In an attempt to get Jackie on a TV talent show, "The Wow! Show", Angus calls up the show's host, Terry Lambert, and tells him Jackie will be walking a tightrope between high-rise buildings, nude. Although the stunt backfires, Terry is intrigued enough to feature Jackie on the show. Jackie develops a crush on the suave Terry, and under his influence, she drops the Wombats from her act, tones down her quirky style of music and dress to be more conventional, and breaks up with Robbie who disapproves of these changes. Jackie's TV appearance with her new look and sound is a failure, and afterwards she discovers that Terry, who she thought was romantically interested in her, is actually gay. Humiliated, she reconciles with Robbie. Meanwhile, Angus' deadbeat father Lou has returned and begun romancing Jackie's hardworking mother Pearl, but the affair ends badly when Lou disappears with all the money from the pub's safe, leaving Pearl and the pub, which was already on the verge of closing, in dire financial straits. In order to save both the pub and Jackie's singing career, Angus comes up with a plan for Jackie and the Wombats to crash The Wow! Show's New Year's Eve talent competition at the Sydney Opera House by posing as stage crew and then taking over the stage. The plan works and Jackie wins the $25,000 prize, thus becoming a star and saving the pub. 

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Highly regarded violin restorer Stéphane (Daniel Auteuil) works and plays squash with his longtime business partner Maxime (André Dussollier). After Maxime, who is married, begins romancing concert violinist Camille (Béart), Stéphane is called in to do some urgent repairs on Camille's violin. Camille begins to fall for Stéphane, and reveals the truth to Maxime. Stéphane's cool reaction causes confusion for Camille, and she lashes out at him for denying his feelings.Independent Film Quarterly. Accessed 16 September 2015 

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DCI Jack Spratt heads the Berkshire Nursery Crime Division, handling all inquiries involving nursery rhyme characters and other PDRs (persons of dubious reality). After doubts arise concerning his handling of the Great Red-Legg'd Scissorman's arrest and the Red Riding Hood affair, he is suspended pending a mental health review. His DS Mary Mary promises to consult him on all cases, to bypass the suspension. They begin an investigation of porridge-smuggling by anthropomorphic bears. Jack's troubles increase when the argumentative Punches move in next door and his son adopts a sly and sticky-fingered pet. He is forced to reveal to his shocked wife that he is himself a PDR. Furthermore, his psychiatrist is particularly sceptical about his claim that his new car repairs itself when no one is watching, and the car salesman who can prove his sanity cannot be found. His self-esteem is somewhat restored when the newspaperman who has been hounding him begs Jack's help in finding his missing sister "Goldilocks". It seems she was working on an explosive story involving cucumber growers. Meanwhile, the Gingerbreadman, the notorious murderous biscuit (or possibly cake, occasionally cookie) escapes custody, leaving a trail of bodies; Jack is frustrated when the case is given to an unimaginative officer outside NCD. While Jack and Mary are making enquiries about Goldilocks, they twice encounter the fugitive biscuit, but fail to capture him. It emerges that Goldilocks was involved in the porridge-smuggling after her body is discovered in the grim theme park SommeWorld. Jack begins to suspect the Gingerbreadman is a hired assassin and attempts to question the Quangle-Wangle, a reclusive industrialist. The solution to the mystery involves secret industrial and government conspiracies and the mysterious Fourth bear... After more investigations Jack comes across a cottage of three bears who knew Goldilocks. They say that she ate the little bear's porridge and broke his bed, like the rhyme. He also makes investigations into Ursine Developments, the flats for bears. You came across these at the start of the book when Jack caught them smuggling oats into the flats for oat addicts. This is illegal for bears to eat as well as marmalade, honey, and large amounts of porridge, as they have the same effect as drugs. 

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In 1976, Timothy Conigrave, a student at a high school in Victoria, fell in love with the captain of the school football team, John Caleo. So began a relationship that was to last for 15 years, a love affair that weathered disapproval, betrayal, separation, and ultimately death. With honesty and insight, 'Holding the Man' explores the highs and lows of their life partnership: the intimacy, constraints, temptations, and the strength of heart both men had to find when they tested positive for HIV. The story opens at Kostka, Xavier's junior [preparatory] school in Melbourne. Here, the author begins to sexually experiment with other boys, and comes to the realisation that he is gay. Several years later, on his first day at Xavier College (the Jesuit senior school), Conigrave sees John Caleo for the first time. > On the far side of the crush I noticed a boy. I saw the body of a man with > an open, gentle face: such softness within that masculinity. He was > beautiful, calm. I was transfixed. He wasn't talking, just listening to his > friends with his hands in his pockets, smiling. What was it about his face? > He became aware that I was looking at him and greeted me with a lift of his > eyebrows. I returned the gesture and then looked away, pretending something > had caught my attention. But I kept sneaking looks. It's his eyelashes. > They're unbelievable. [31] The two form a friendship, and at the suggestion of Pepe, one of Tim's female friends, John is invited to a dinner party at Tim's house. The girls know Tim is in love with John, and 'pass a kiss' around the table for his benefit. > Juliet kissed Pepe. Their kiss lingered. Pepe came up for air. 'Tim'. As I > kissed her she opened her mouth. Her tongue was exploring mine. I felt > trapped. I was afraid to stop kissing her because I knew what was coming. I > don't want John to think I'm enjoying this. Before I knew it my hand was on > his knee, as if to let him know it was him I wanted. His hand settled on > mine as Pepe continued kissing me. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was a > virgin being led to the volcano to be sacrificed. I turned to face him. He > shut his eyes and pursed his lips. Everything went slow motion as I pressed > my mouth against his. His gentle warm lips filled my head. My body dissolved > and I was only lips pressed against the flesh of his. I would have stayed > there for the rest of my life, but I was suddenly worried about freaking him > out and I pulled away. I caught sight of his face - fresh, with chocolate- > brown eyes, and a small, almost undetectable smile. [74] A few weeks later, Tim rings John at home, and asks "John Caleo, will you go round with me?" The reply is an unambiguous "Yep". The two graduate from high school in 1977, Tim attending Monash University and John studying to be a chiropractor at College. Despite parental opposition, Conigrave's eventual move to Sydney in order to attend NIDA, and youthful experimentation and infidelities, the relationship continues. Tragically, when Tim and John finally move in together in Sydney and are genuinely happy, they are diagnosed with HIV. The year is 1985. Until 1990, the men have relatively mild symptoms. Sadly, in the Autumn of 1991, John begins to rapidly deteriorate, suffering from lymphoma. Tim cares for his partner, whilst nursing symptoms of his own. The misery of HIV/AIDS is laid bare before the reader, with Conigrave sparing nothing in detailing the cruel progression of the disease. He watches as his lover's once-strong body is ravaged. The reader helplessly looks on as the story moves to its devastating conclusion. At Christmas, in 1991, John is admitted to the Fairfield Hospital in Melbourne. A month later, on Australia Day 1992, he dies of an AIDS-related illness, with his lover by his side, gently stroking his hair. Nearly three years later, shortly after finishing Holding the Man, Tim Conigrave passes away in Sydney. The final passages of the book are some of its most poignant: > I guess the hardest thing is having so much love for you and it somehow not > being returned. I develop crushes all the time, but that is just misdirected > need for you. You are a hole in my life, a black hole. Anything I place > there cannot be returned. I miss you terribly. Ci vedremo lassu, angelo. > [286]. 

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Gilbert Pinfold is an English novelist of repute who at the age of 50 can look back on a varied life that has included a dozen reasonably successful books, wide travel, and honourable service in the Second World War. His reputation secure, he lives quietly, on good but not close terms with his neighbours; his Roman Catholicism sets him slightly apart in the local community. He has a pronounced distaste for most aspects of modern life, and has of late become somewhat lazy, given to drinking more than he should. To counter the effects of his several aches and pains, Pinfold has taken to dosing himself with a powerful sedative of chloral and bromide. He conceals this practice from his doctor. Pinfold is very protective of his privacy, but uncharacteristically agrees to be interviewed on BBC radio. The main inquisitor is a man named Angel, whose voice and manner disconcert Pinfold, who believes he detects a veiled malicious intent. In the weeks that follow, Pinfold broods on the incident. He finds his memory beginning to play tricks on him. The encroaching winter depresses him further; he decides to escape by taking a cruise, and secures passage on the SS Caliban, bound for Ceylon. As the voyage proceeds, Pinfold finds that he hears sounds and conversations from other parts of the ship which he believes are somehow being transmitted into his cabin. Amid an increasingly bizarre series of overheard incidents, he hears remarks which become progressively more insulting, and then directly threatening towards himself. The main tormentors are a man and a woman, whose vicious words are balanced by those of an affectionate younger woman, Margaret. He is convinced that the man is the BBC interviewer Angel, using his technical knowledge to broadcast the voices. Pinfold spends sleepless nights, awaiting a threatened beating, a kidnapping attempt and a seductive visit from Margaret. To escape his persecutors Pinfold disembarks at Alexandria and flies on to Colombo, but the voices pursue him. Pinfold has now reconciled himself to their presence and is able to ignore them, or even converse rationally with them. After a brief stay in Colombo he returns to England. On the flight home he is told by "Angel" that the whole episode was a scientific experiment that got out of hand; if Pinfold will keep silent about his experiences, he is told, he will never be bothered by the voices again. Pinfold refuses, declaring Angel to be a menace that must be exposed. Back in England, Mrs Pinfold convinces him that Angel had never left the country and the voices are imaginary. Pinfold hears Margaret faintly say,"I don't exist, but I do love you", before the voices disappear forever. Pinfold's doctor diagnoses poisoning from the bromide and chloral. Pinfold views his courage in the battle against the voices as a significant victory in the battle with his personal demons, and he begins to write an account of his experiences: "The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold". 

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Michael Taylor, played by Michael Sarrazin, is tormented by his sheer lack of memory concerning the night his wife was found brutally killed. Michael's girlfriend Paula (Susan Clark) helps him attempt to make sense of it all. Anthony Perkins plays a blackmailer; Maury Chaykin, Kenneth Welsh and Michael Ironside appear in minor roles. Several cast members of the comedy show SCTV appear in this film, all playing small dramatic roles. (Director George Bloomfield had directed SCTV from 1977 through 1979, and brought the cast into the fold.) John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas all have minor or bit parts; only O'Hara is in more than one scene, and Levy is visible for less than five seconds. It was the film debut for both O'Hara and Thomas. Some later video releases of the film misleadingly give some or all of the SCTV cast top billing. In the actual film credits, no SCTV member is billed higher than 11th. 

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In the distant future, an ex-GSA pilot has been tipped by a stranger that his hometown is in danger, but by the time he reaches the city limits, a nuclear bomb destroys the city along with his beloved wife and baby girl. The pilot uses a ship on a landing pad to meet with the stranger at a certain location. When the pilot reaches the location, he finds the stranger is dying but obtains some vital information. The pilot then gets a fighter plane and heads to a group of islands to begin his vigilante revenge. As the pilot progresses from nation to nation destroying each base, the plot thickens and he begins to understand who and what he is dealing with and why the terrorism started. 

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Ronnie Barker played Welsh photographer Plantagenet Evans, a tactless but likeable bully with an intolerance towards fools and an overdeveloped sense of his own abilities. Sharon Morgan played Evans's long-time fiancée Rachel, who also doubled as his assistant and had a full-time job steering his lusting eyes away from other women and back to his job. The series was filmed on location at the old Gwalia bakery on Irfon Terrace in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys. It was written by Roy Clarke, who also wrote Open All Hours for Barker, plus successful sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances. However, despite it being a much heralded series, securing the front cover of the BBC listing magazine Radio Times for their autumn season of new programming, only one series was made and neither Evans nor the premise had the chance to develop any further. The BBC has never repeated the series on any of its channels. The series is now available on Region One DVD and on Region Two DVD as part of The Ultimate Ronnie Barker DVD Collection. 

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Jim London is a young lovable rogue who becomes a man of property when a relative dies, leaving him a run-down Victorian property at 17 Railway Terrace in the Elephant and Castle area of south London. He gets into various problems with the police and spends most of his time getting drunk and chasing women. 

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Lawyer Andrew Garfield begins having an affair with a deaf woman, played by Marlee Matlin, when one day her husband catches them. Andrew Garfield then kills him. From then on in the film, the lawyer must defend his lover who's blamed for the murder that he committed himself. 

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The year is 1865, and the American Civil War has just ended. Former slave Nate Washington and his boyhood friend, Confederate Colonel Ben Loftin head west together from the South which lies in ruins. On the Western Plains, they encounter a band of Chippewa Indians who will forever change their lives. Along the way, they must deal with a renegade band of Union Cavalry with a score to settle. 

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An astronaut, coming in for a crash landing, makes odd statements over the radio, including "my hand... makes me do things.... kill.... kill!" Strangely, by then, ground control was under the belief that he was already out of oxygen. Later, a naive young med student, Paul, discovers a disembodied hand near the crash site and takes it home as a grisly souvenir. He is not aware that the hand is possessed by a strange, murderous alien. First, the hand murders Paul's landlady. The police, led by a sheriff played by Alan Hale, begin to suspect Paul, especially as he begins to act more and more strangely as the hand begins to have more and more influence over him. The fictional federal agency responsible for space flight is called to the small town because fingerprints found at the first crime scene match the missing, dead astronaut. Paul, now under control of the arm, attacks other people around the town, including his own beloved girlfriend. Horrified at what he's been doing, Paul attempts to take the arm to the beach to destroy it, but he's confronted by the authorities. The arm, now wounded, is held down by some cats who try to eat it. Authorities collect the arm, and Paul, recovering in the hospital, appears to be forgiven. The orderlies charged with transporting the captured arm to the airport for transport to the federal agency open the box containing the arm, and the film ends with a quick zoom to the inside of the box and the sound of a scream as the words "the end" appear on black. 

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The planet Dilbia is in a vital spot for both human and Hemnoid space travel. Both are trying to persuade the Dilbians to work with them to use the planet as a way station. 

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The film is based on the life of Mikel Lejarza, an agent of the Spanish intelligence service in the early 1970s. During the end of the Francoist State, Lejarza infiltrated ETA, a paramilitary group seeking independence for the Basque Country. He obstructed plans for a major prison breakout and a campaign of attacks. The secret services tried to demobilise him when he became less useful. However, he pursued his mission nevertheless, which became the most successful government initiative against ETA. Information he provided was responsible for the capture or killing of a quarter of its members, including some of its Special Forces members and leaders. He destabilized the organization when it was a potential justification for conservatives to seize power and stop the democratisation process. ETA sentenced him to death and posted his pictures throughout the Basque country, in the hope of someone reporting his whereabouts. Mikel changed his name and face and has lived under an assumed identity ever since. 

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Patrick 'Stevie' Logan is sleeping rough in London and seeks employment on a building site. Learning that he is homeless, Stevie's new workmates Larry, Mo and Shem volunteer to find him an empty flat to squat in on a nearby housing estate. Stevie meets struggling Irish actress and singer Susan (Emer McCourt) when he finds and returns a handbag belonging to her. This chance encounter leads to a turbulent relationship. Stevie rounds up some of the men from the building site to support Susan at one of her pub gigs where she sings "Always On My Mind". The audience is initially hostile, but Larry shames them into calling Susan back for an encore and she sings "With A Little Help From My Friends", which is much better received. Susan agrees to move into Stevie's flat, where they are happy for a time. On the building site, life continues as a series of small escapades and petty misdemeanors. Larry is vocal in his left-wing views and opposition to Margaret Thatcher and the ruling Conservative party. No-one shares his view that politics is important to their real-life situation. Meanwhile, the management sack men for minor misbehaviour and are only superficially interested in safety. Stevie and Susan's relationship becomes strained. Susan tends towards negative emotions associated with her lack of career success. Stevie, on the other hand, can be callous and unsympathetic. After hearing his name on radio Stevie finds out that his mother has died so leaves to attend her funeral in Scotland. In his absence Susan starts using the heroin dealt by youths on the estate. This precipitates the end of their relationship and Susan's sudden departure. Larry is sacked from the site after requesting safer working conditions. After jokingly making an expensive phone call on the boss' mobile phone, Shem also gets the sack (and is arrested for the assault that follows). Desmonde, a young construction worker, falls off the roof of the converted hospital and despite Stevie and Mo's efforts to save him he loses grip and falls to the ground and is severely injured. The cause of the accident is unsafe scaffolding, which the men have already warned about. Stevie and Mo return in the middle of the night and set a huge fire in the building. 

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The film begins with a dying professor who leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew (Matt Foyer) begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own. Sailors aboard the Emma encounter the Alert abandoned at sea. The nephew notes that Inspector Legrasse, who had directed the raid on cultists in backwoods Louisiana, died before the nephew's investigation began. As he pieces together the dreadful and disturbing reality of the situation, his own sanity begins to crumble. In the end, he passes the torch to his psychiatrist, who in turn hears Cthulhu's call. 

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The short begins with Donald wiping the fog off his glass door, excited to see the snow. Wearing a fur overcoat, Donald goes out to play with a sled while singing "Jingle Bells". When Donald reaches the top of the hill, he notices his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, at the bottom, building a snowman while singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". Tempted, Donald crashes his sled into their snowman and thus his nephews, resulting each of them to "wear" a part of their snowman. Donald laughs himself silly afterwards, which prompted the angry trio to plot revenge. The nephews plot their revenge by creating a giant snowman version on Donald on a boulder before calling out to him on it. Donald attempts to crash the snowman, only for the shockwaves from the crash to destroy his sled and shake off all of the furs on his overcoat, save for one, that Donald touches with his finger to stop its shaking and pulls out. The nephews happily laugh themselves silly, prompting an angry Donald to chase after them. Eventually, the nephews escape into an ice fortress and crash into ice like cage and he cover of snow like a rhino that they made before singing "London Bridge", prompting Donald to declare war on them by building himself a snow battleship. Donald starts off a small barrage of snowballs, which results the nephews into becoming like bowling pins, and Donald uses a bowling ball-like snowball to strike them out. Donald then pulls out a bucket of water, dips a snow chunk in it, and creates an ice ammunition (called "Big Bertha" by Donald.) He launches it and it splits his nephews' flagpole in three spots, "spanking" all three of them. Despite the pain they endured, the nephews angrily refuse to surrender to Donald and instead started creating snow chunks of their own while getting three other objects: a picnic basket, some rope, and some mouse traps. They place the mouse traps in rocket- shaped components and stick them in the picnic basket now with the string tied to it. Huey, Dewey, and Louie soon launch the basket and release the missiles, with Donald getting hit by several of them sending him into his usual tantrum. With Huey commanding them with a wooden sword, Louie and Dewey started launching snowballs from a catapult, much to Donald's frustration. The nephews then spear hot coal onto arrows (albeit while singing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic") and launch them into the top of the battleship, creating a skull- like structure. As a final attack, they launch a flaming snowball into a part of Donald's ship, which causes the ship to start melting and end up with Donald frozen in a palm tree-shaped prison of ice. To celebrate their victory, the triplets perform a (stereotypical) ceremonious Native American dance around the icicle (this latter performance was edited out of later broadcasts of the clip, due to perceived political incorrectness). This short was featured as part of the edited collection, Donald and His Duckling Gang, from 1979, and is featured in From All of Us to All of You which is shown on TV every Christmas in the Scandinavian countries. This short was one of the many featured in Donald Duck's 50th Birthday. 

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Clair Huxtable, an attorney, and her children are having dinner at home. Clair is upset with Theo due to the poor grades on his recent report cards. His younger sister Vanessa was trying to get Theo in trouble for throwing food at her as well. Dr. Cliff Huxtable comes home from a long day at his job as an obstetrician/gynecologist just after the meal. Cliff confronts Theo about his poor grades and asks how he plans to get into college with such grades. When Theo replies that he's not planning to go to college, Cliff replies "Damn right." Theo explains that he just plans to get a job after school as a regular person. Cliff uses play money from a Monopoly game to show just how far a "regular person"'s income would actually go in the adult world. Cliff gives him an amount of money representing a generous monthly salary for a "regular person". He then takes money out of Theo's hand in amounts representing various costs such as housing, food, clothes, transportation and finally a girlfriend, until there is nothing left. Cliff also meets Denise's earring-wearing beau, who had recently been in a Turkish prison. When Cliff tells his daughter about what time he expects her home and what attire she should wear, she scoffs at the notion since it is a Friday night and thus, "not a school night." Cliff responds by asking her if she went to school that day and that it was a "school night." Theo responds that he should accept his son's weaknesses and love him unconditionally because they are father and son—a typical sentimental idiom in family sitcoms of that time, and one which generated the typical applause from the studio audience. Cliff, however, to the audience's surprise and amused approval, immediately and angrily calls this sentiment "the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life". He completely rejects the notion that loving his son means he must quietly and willingly accept it when the boy does not give his best effort in school, and famously threatened him with the often quoted line, "I brought you in this world, and I'll take you out." Cliff then tells his son that he expects him to work to his potential and tells Theo that he loves him. At the end of the day, Clair and Cliff settle into bed. As he becomes amorous, she reminds him that was how they got all those troublesome kids. This puts him off for a few seconds. Then Vanessa and Rudy knock on the bedroom door because Rudy was scared of "the Wolf Man" in their closet. Clair invites the kids to sleep with her and Cliff. 

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RoboWarrior takes place on an alien planet called Altile which was created by scientists as a solution to the overpopulation problem of Earth. During a peaceful period on Altile, Robowarriors are decommissioned from Earth and the Xantho empire invades Altile and try to transform it for personal gain. The player operates a cyborg named ZED (Z-type Earth Defence). In the game, ZED raids Altile to fight the Xantho empire and destroy its leader, Xur. ZED deploys bombs to clear a path through rocks, walls, and forests, while killing enemies and collecting items. Some gameplay elements resemble those of Bomberman (1983). 

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After returning from their adventure at the Lost Oasis, the Emersons try to get Nefret, their new ward, integrated into English country life. She has difficulty with the immaturity and meanness of girls her age, but is determined to learn the ways of her newly adopted culture. Nefret decides she will stay in England to study while the Emersons return to Egypt as usual in the fall, and Walter and Evelyn Emerson glady take her in. Ramses also decides to stay in England, as his crush on Nefret becomes more obvious to his mother (but no one else). So Amelia and the Professor sail east, to begin a new season with a new project - the complete clearing of an entire archaeological site. Despite Amelia's hopes that this will be a second honeymoon for them, Emerson is kidnapped—but no ransom demand or explanation is forthcoming. Amelia, Abdullah, and their circle of friends scour Luxor for any sign of Emerson, with the help of Cyrus Vandergelt, who appears on the scene just when Amelia needs him most. When Adbullah finally finds Emerson, imprisoned in a backyard shed, Amelia finds out that his captor wants information about their previous year's travels and the possibility of a lost Meroitic civilization (complete with artifacts and treasures to exploit). Unfortunately for the kidnapper, Emerson is the victim of amnesia and doesn't know anything about the Lost Oasis. Unfortunately for Amelia, it turns out Emerson doesn't remember her either—and is just as annoyed by her as when they first met. (See Crocodile on the Sandbank.) Back in England, Ramses and Nefret also seem targeted for abduction, and Ramses' harrowing letters do not add to Amelia's peace of mind. Meanwhile, Cyrus is beginning to look at Amelia with more affection than she expected, but she's not going to give Emerson up without a fight. 

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The story opens with Portuguese soldier Fernando de Gama drowning in the ocean after a shipwreck. He comes to, finds some wreckage to float on and washes up on the coast of Siam. After almost being eaten by a crocodile, he is captured by Arab slave traders and taken to Ayutthaya. Released from his bonds to be put on the auction block, he promptly knocks down his captors and leads them on a chase throughout the ancient city. Eventually, he is brought under control, but not before he is captured the attention of a Eurasian beauty, Maria, who buys him his freedom back. After recovering from his recapture, Maria brings Fernando to meet her father, Phillippe. Fernando immediately recognizes Phillippe as the man who killed Fernando's father many years ago, whom Fernando has been seeking on a lifetime quest for revenge. But there are bigger battles to be fought. Fernando and his Portuguese compatriots are pressed into the service of King Chairacha, who has to go into battle. It is a multi-national taskforce, not only including Portuguese mercenaries, but also samurai warriors (likely Christians expelled from Japan). In battle, Fernando bonds with a Thai warrior named Tong. They distinguish themselves by saving the King from an assassination attempt and are appointed his personal bodyguards. Queen Sudachan, a former royal consort who schemed her way into becoming queen, is behind the assassination plot. Because it failed, she calls on Don Phillippe for help. Phillippe in turn enlists a scar-faced ninja to kill the king. This plan is also thwarted by Fernando, Tong and other Siamese troops. After the assassins are killed in the king's bedroom, King Chairacha assigns Tong and Fernando the task of seeking out whoever is behind this scheme. Recognizing one of the dead assassins as the scar-faced ninja he had seen Phillippe talking with earlier that night, Fernando confronts Phillippe. They fight, and Phillippe is killed by Tong. Meanwhile, the queen resorts to black magic to poison the king. She also must kill her own son, Prince Yodfa (who is next in line for the throne), to clear the way for her boyfriend Worawongsathirat. This she achieves by hiring a spear-wielding African warrior. Succeeding in her plot, Fernando and Tong are then framed for the deaths and made to fight each other in a death duel for Queen Sudachan, her new king, and the crowd's amusement. Tong's family and Maria's life are threatened, and Tong throws an axe at Worawongsathirat, slaying him. Moments before the queen kills Tong and Fernando in revenge, King Chairacha's brother Maha Chakkraphat arrives. Having deduced on his own that the queen is behind the king and prince's deaths, he arrests the queen and releases our heroes and their loved ones. In an ending text, it is stated that news of these events were heard by the king of Burma, and that the story's impression of disarray is what caused the Burmese invasion and the eventual decline and destruction of Ayutthaya. 

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The Dreamstone begins in a forest called Ealdwood, the last remaining bastion of Faery on Earth. Once, the Sidhe had roamed the world freely, but when Man came and fought wars and spread evil, the dark Sidhe burrowed deep or hid in rivers and lakes, while the bright ones, the Daoine Sidhe left mortal Earth and returned to Faery. But one bright one, Arafel chose to remain behind and guard Ealdwood, the last untouched forest. Men avoided Ealdwood because those who ventured in never came out again. Arafel watched the coming and going of Men in the lands surrounding Ealdwood, but showed little interest in them, until one man sought shelter in the fringes of the forest. She confronted him and learned that his king at Dun na h-Eoin had been killed, and that he, Niall, was on the run from those who had seized power. Arafel tells him that he cannot stay in Ealdwood, but fearing for his safety, sends him to Beorc's Steading, a sanctuary hidden in a valley for "lostlings". Back in Ealdwood, another man stumbles into the forest. Arafel learns he is Fionn, the dead king's harper, fleeing Lord Evald of Caer Wiell. Evald had overthrown the king, taken his wife, Meara, and now claims Fionn's harp as his own. When Evald invades the forest in pursuit of Fionn, Arafel denies him access to the harper. Evald demands compensation for what he claims is his, and she gives him her dreamstone, a magical stone that preserves memories of the wearer. Evald returns to Caer Wiell and Arafel allows Fionn to stay in Ealdwood so she can listen to him sing. But the dreamstone Evald now wears causes both him and Arafel anguish: she can feel his ugly memories and evil, while he can feel her kindness and peace, which confuses him. When Fionn discovers what Arafel did, and the distress it is causing her, he leaves her to find Evald to trade his harp for her stone. Evald, driven mad by lust and kindness, invades Ealdwood again and meets Fionn. He gives Fionn the stone for the harp, but kills the harper out of spite. Arafel arrives too late to save Fionn and kills Evald with her silver sword. Devastated, Arafel recovers her dreamstone and retreats to Eald (Faery). When Niall learns of Lord Evald's death, he returns to Caer Wiell and seizes control. He offers Meara and her son by Evald, Evald junior, safety, and peace returns to Caer Wiell. Evald grows up and marries Meredydd, and when an aging Niall dies, Evald becomes Lord of Caer Wiell. A new king, Laochailan ascends to the throne, and is at war with An Beag. Lord Evald of Caer Wiell and brothers Donnchadh and Ciaran of Caer Donn agree to help the king reclaim control of Dun na h-Eoin. They win the battle, but Evald is worried that the retreating enemy will overrun Caer Wiell, and asks the king to let him return to defend it. The king refuses, but allows Ciaran to go. On his way to Caer Wiell, Ciaran is attacked at the edge of Ealdwood and flees into the forest. There he finds a tree with swords and jewels hanging from its branches. He takes one of the silver swords to defend himself, but Arafel intervenes and withdraws Ciaran into Eald. She realises that he is a halfling, a Man with elf blood in him, because no Man would find Cinniuint, the Tree of Swords and Jewels. Arafel explains to Ciaran that when the Daoine Sidhe withdrew to Faery they hung their swords and memory stones on the tree, and the sword he took belonged to an elf prince named Liosliath. She gives Ciaran Liosliath's jewel stone, similar to Arafel's dreamstone. Ciaran tells Arafel he must honor his commitment to help Caer Wiell, and she takes him, via Faery, to the keep. Caer Wiell is besieged by An Beag, and Ciaran helps in its defence, assuring its people that their Lord Evald and the king will return to free them. As Caer Wiell's siege worsens, Ciaran calls Arafel for help via the stone, unaware of the dangers in summoning the Sidhe. Arafel reluctantly responds, knowing that she will wake the Sidhe's ancient enemies. She arms Ciaran and gives him an elf horse, and together they battle An Beag and ancient creatures who have aligned with the enemy. By the time the king and Lord Evald return, the battle is over, the dark forces are defeated and Arafel, free again after completing her task, has returned to Eald. Everyone now sees Ciaran as an elf prince and fear him. The king returns to Dun na h-Eoin and Donnchadh to Caer Donn, both refusing to associate with Ciaran. Only Branwyn, Evald's daughter, accepts him, and Ciaran takes her to Ealdwood. He returns Liosliath's dreamstone to Arafel and the Sidhe blesses them both and Caer Wiell. 

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In The Dreamstone Arafel, a Daoine Sidhe helps Ciaran, a halfling (half human, half elf) save Caer Wiell near to Ealdwood forest, the last remaining bastion of Faery on Earth. The Tree of Swords and Jewels continues the story ten years later, when Ciaran has married Branwyn and become Lord of Caer Wiell. All of Caer Wiell are aware of Ciaran's connections to the Sidhe, whom they fear. One day Arafel visits Ciaran and returns elf prince Liosliath's dreamstone to him, saying that she needs his help: dark forces have awakened again and have overrun part of Eald (Faery). Ciaran tells her that peace in the region is fragile: King Laochailan does not trust him, and Ciaran's brother Donnchadh of Caer Donn fears him and his elf heritage. Arafel begins searching for those responsible for the shrinking of Eald, and discovers Duilliath, a drow (dark elf) living in Dun Gol, the site of an ancient elf battle. Dun Gol is close to Caer Donn, and Duilliath has begun influencing Donnchadh's thoughts and actions. Just as Arafel controls Caer Wiell, Duilliath controls Caer Donn. Arafel tries to coax him back to sleep again, but a duel erupts and she is injured, forcing her to retreat to Eald. Trees in Eald are dying and Arafel tries unsuccessfully to call on the departed elves for help. When Ciaran learns that King Laochailan is ill, he tries to contact his brother, and when that fails he enters Eald to ask for Arafel's help, but finds Duilliath there. While trying to flee Eald, Ciaran is ambushed by An Beag bandits, who mortally wound him—only Liosliath's stone about his neck keeps him alive. Duilliath, with plans to expand his armies and influence, instructs Donnchadh to go to Dun na h-Eoin, kill Laochailan and install himself as king. Ciaran manages to return to Caer Wiell, where he lies on his deathbed. Upon hearing that Donnchadh is the new king, Ciaran makes one last attempt to contact Arafel and enters Eald. One of Arafel's aides instructs Branwyn to evacuate Caer Wiell, and he takes her people to the safety of Beorc's Steading, a sanctuary hidden in a valley. In Eald, Ciaran finds his elf horse waiting for him, but they are pursued by dark elves and he flees to the sea. Dying, and with nowhere else to go, Ciaran draws on the power of his stone and is given Camhanach, a silver horn. His last act is to blow three times into the horn, which summons the Daoine Sidhe. But this act also releases Nathair Sgiathach, an ancient dragon that the Sidhe had bound to Cinniuint, the Tree of Swords and Jewels. Nathair Sgiathach confronts a weakened Arafel and threatens to enslave her. Liosliath returns, takes over Ciaran's body, and kills Donnchadh, now occupied by Duilliath. Liosliath and several other elves rush to Arafel's assistance in Ealdwood and defeat the dragon. Liosliath and Arafel later visit Branwyn at the Steading and tell her that she is free to build her own Caer Wiell as this land has left mortal Earth. It is safe from the dark things that have burrowed again, and the drow that has returned to sleep at Dun Gol. 

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Psychologist Dr. Sarah Taylor (Rebecca De Mornay) is a guarded, aloof criminal psychologist who interviews a client who is a rapist, and is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. It is later revealed that she was the subject of daily rapes as a child by her estranged father, who is now shown to be very ill. Sarah meets Tony Ramirez (Antonio Banderas) in a shopping mall, and she gives him her number. She begins a relationship with Tony, despite the creepy advances of her neighbor, Cliff (Dennis Miller), with whom she once had a one-night stand. Days into this new relationship, Sarah begins to get death threats and strange gifts, such as dead flowers. As she gets more romantic with Tony, the gifts get more extreme. Her beloved cat is dismembered, at which point Sarah goes to the police. Sarah then hires a detective and has Tony followed, and breaks into his apartment only to discover that he has a file on her, including information about her mother's death in a gun accident, twenty years before. Tony is actually investigating her, trying to learn the whereabouts of a former boyfriend of hers who had disappeared suddenly. Ultimately, it is revealed that Sarah suffers from multiple personality disorder, brought about from her abuse as a child, and from her father brainwashing her to cover up the murder of her mother. Her alternate personality is responsible for all of the strange gifts, and for murdering her ex-boyfriend. When Tony goes to her father's house, Sarah (under the control of her alternate personality) follows him, shoots and kills him there, and then kills her father when he tries to intervene. When Sarah reverts to her normal personality, not remembering what has happened, she presumes that Tony was crazy and killed her father, and that she killed Tony in self-defense. In the end, she is seen entering into a relationship with Cliff. 

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On her 18th birthday, Connie Doyle (Ricki Lake) meets lowlife Steve DeCunzo (Loren Dean). She moves in with him and winds up pregnant. He kicks her out when she won't abort the baby, denying responsibility. Months later, a destitute Connie gets inadvertently swept aboard a train at Grand Central Terminal. With no ticket and no money, Connie is rescued by Hugh Winterbourne (Brendan Fraser), who takes her to his private compartment. She meets his wife, Patricia, (Susan Haskell) who is also pregnant. Patricia and Connie bond, and Patricia shows Connie her wedding band, which has the couple's names engraved on the inside. Patricia encourages Connie to try the ring on. When the train suddenly crashes, Patricia is thrown outside, leaving Connie the only one in the private compartment. Eight days later, Connie wakes up in the hospital to discover she has given birth to a baby boy. Connie was found in the Winterbourne's sleeper car wearing the wedding band, and has been mistaken for Patricia. She also learns "the other pregnant woman on the train" (Patricia, mistaken for Connie) and Hugh both died in the crash. She tries to explain, but is prevented from doing so by the hospital staff, who believe her to be hysterical. Hugh's mother, Grace (Shirley MacLaine), who has a bad heart, had never met Patricia before, and so assumes Connie is Patricia. Grace calls asking Connie to come to the Winterbourne estate. With nowhere else to go, Connie accepts the offer and is driven there by Paco (Miguel Sandoval), the loyal chauffeur. There, Connie meets Bill (also played by Fraser), Hugh's identical twin brother. When the shock of seeing the twin of the man she is claiming as her deceased husband wears off, she nervously begins her new life. She names her newborn son Hughie, after his supposed father. Her new life is very different, and she finds it difficult to adjust. She is helped by Grace, who accepts anything she does, and gives her a socialite make-over. Meanwhile, since the police think that Patricia was Connie, they tell Steve that Connie and his unborn baby have died. Steve doesn't really seem to care, which disturbs his new girlfriend (Cathryn de Prume). Bill questions Connie closely, suspicious of inconsistencies in her story. Annoyed by this, Grace forces Connie on Bill one day, and Bill and Connie walk around Boston, and begin to bond. During the day, Connie accidentally signs her real name, which Bill notices. He investigates, learning her real identity. Bill prepares to expose Connie when he learns that Grace plans to change her will to include Connie and baby Hughie. However, he changes his mind when Connie becomes upset and begs Grace not to include her and Hughie in the will, proving to him that Connie is not after the family's money. Connie's protests make Grace want to include them even more and the will is signed. Bill and Connie are then called to help a drunk Paco, heart-broken from a recent failed romance, to his bed. He demands that Bill and Connie dance a tango before he will fall asleep. They do so, and end up sharing several kisses. Grace meets a love-struck Bill as he is leaving, and, hearing him confess concern over what Hugh would think if Bill has feelings for Hugh's (possible) widow, assures him that his brother would want him to be happy. Connie receives an anonymous letter asking "Who are you? And whose baby is that?" She has been feeling guilty for taking advantage of Grace's (and now Bill's) kindness, but worries that any revelation of the truth would endanger Grace's life. Connie decides to leave with Hughie, and is found packing by Bill. Bill attempts to convince her to stay, proposing to her. He tells her to think about it overnight. Connie decides to run away anyway. Paco follows her to the train station, tells her about his own shady past, and makes her realize she and the baby are just as valuable to Grace as Grace is to them. Connie returns home to find Grace has had a heart attack because of her sudden disappearance. She and Grace talk about Bill's proposal, and Grace tells Connie to never take the baby away again. Connie decides to accept the situation, and agrees to marry Bill as Patricia Winterbourne. Steve saw a publicity shot of Connie as Patricia, and sent her that letter. He blackmails her to meet with him the next day, or else he will go to Grace, possibly giving her another heart attack. Grace, seeing Connie's distress from afar, sends Paco after Steve as he leaves, to discover his identity. At Steve's motel, Connie writes him a check to leave her and the baby alone, but Steve only wants it to force her into a worse scheme - pretending to kidnap Hughie, ransoming him back. If Connie goes to the police, Steve will use the check as proof that Connie approached him with the idea. Connie, terrified that Grace will die if she is frightened about Hughie being kidnapped, returns to the estate, and steals a pistol from a display case, then returns to the motel to frighten Steve into returning the incriminating check. She does not at first realize that Steve is already dead, and the pistol accidentally goes off when she finds out. Bill rushes in on the echo of the gunshot, and both Bill and Connie deny causing Steve's death. Connie talks Bill out of calling the police, and searches briefly for her own check. Failing to find it, she and Bill flee the scene, not knowing that Paco sees their flight from outside the motel. It is then that Connie begins to tell Bill about the lie she has been living, but Bill reveals that he already knows Connie's true identity, and that he loves her anyway. The next day, which happens to be their wedding day, the priest (Peter Gerety) tells Bill and Connie that Grace is outside the church, confessing to Steve's murder to the police lieutenant (Debra Monk) who came asking for Patricia Winterbourne. They rush to Grace's side, and each confesses to the murder themselves, trying to shield the others. Paco arrives in time to add his confession to the mix. The police officers tell them they already have the murderer in custody. They only came to the church to question Connie about her check to Steve. The murderer was the woman Steve started seeing after dumping Connie. Like Connie, she had gotten pregnant and Steve had abandoned her. Connie confesses the truth about Hughie's parentage to Grace, who says she'll still accept Connie and Hughie, adding that she'd like more grandchildren. The wedding goes ahead, and Bill presents Connie with a wedding ring that has 'Bill & Connie' engraved on the inside (the ring she wore in the hospital having had 'Hugh & Patricia' in it). Thus Connie, who had been pretending to be Mrs. Winterbourne, finally becomes a real Mrs. Winterbourne. 

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Oswald "Ozzie" Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is a computer engineering prodigy and expert hacker whose actions often have his father Jake (Matt Craven) threatening to send him to military school if he doesn't shape up. One day, he begins an unauthorized download of a soon-to-be- released movie. His download is interrupted when his younger stepsister Melissa Randall (Katie Stuart) enters his room without permission. The resulting squabble between them results in Jake and Melissa's mother Helen (Annabelle Gurwitch) intervening. In the process, Jake discovers the illicit download and Helen punishes Ozzie, making him take Melissa to her private school Shady Glen. He takes her there by skateboard where they run into Principal Claire Maloney (Brenda Fricker) and security consultant Rafe Bentley (Patrick Stewart) where it was revealed that Maloney previously expelled Ozzie which she explained to Bentley why security measures were taken after the "science room burnout" that Ozzie caused. Before he can get out of the school, Bentley and his crew of "security guards" use a variety of firearms and tranquilizer dart guns to subdue several staff members, lock down the school, and hold the children hostage. Bentley has planned stages of a ransom scheme involving their parents' corporations. Ozzie attempts to alert Melissa to the danger. She does not believe him and he is subsequently chased by one of the gunmen. Using a bunsen burner and a vial of acid, he is able to subdue his pursuer. He subsequently begins wreaking havoc with Bentley's computerized security system. The police make several attempts to breach the school's perimeter only to run into automatic gunfire, rocket launchers, and mines. As a concession, Bentley releases most of the children, but keeps the ten richest like Melissa and demands a very large ransom for their return. Ozzie locates ten of the eleven children and rescues them, but Melissa has been taken by Bentley. He then places an improvised time bomb at the bottom of the school's indoor pool. He attempts to stop the ransom payment, but finds out too late that the man designated to deliver it named Foster Doroy (Michael McRae) was actually Bentley's confederate. Bentley ties Ozzie to a chair and leaves with his men, keeping Melissa as an insurance policy. They intend to escape through the sewer pipes using ATV's. While Ozzie is struggling to free himself, the bomb explodes, flooding the school's lower levels and neutralizing nearly everyone there. Ozzie and his friend K-Dog (Jon Abrahams) seize an abandoned ATV and pursue Bentley. They rescue Melissa, but Bentley escapes with the ransom. However, Ozzie is able to blow the whistle on Deroy with a little help from Maloney who also witnessed Rafe's actions. Through his cellphone, the police trace Rafe's employer to the CEO of a rival corporation named Larry Millard (Jim Byrnes), who masterminded the plot so that the money used for the bidding would be given to terrorists so he could win a bidding war against the corporation run by Miles Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) that is employing Jake. Soon afterward, Bentley sees a light at the end of the tunnel only to discover that the light leads to a sewage reclamation plant. The money begins to sink into the sewage as police officers arrive to arrest him. 

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Peter Joseph "Peejoe" Bullis lives in a small town in Alabama in 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Peejoe's eccentric Aunt Lucille Vinson poisons her husband Chester to death after suffering years of abuse. She decapitates him and brings his severed head with her en route to Hollywood, where she is convinced that television stardom awaits her. In New Orleans, Lucille purchases a black hat box to store Chester's head. When a bartender on Bourbon Street insults her, she threatens him with a revolver and robs the cash register before stealing his car. Back in Alabama, Peejoe's uncle (Lucille's brother), Dove, a local funeral director, is notified of the incident. During her travels, Lucille becomes increasingly paranoid, convinced that Chester's ghost is haunting her. Meanwhile, Peejoe becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially segregated municipal swimming pool, leading to a protest that explodes into deadly violence. A young black boy, Taylor Jackson, is killed by the town sheriff, John Doggett. Peejoe, the only witness, is pressured by the sheriff to keep it quiet. While mowing his lawn, Peejoe is struck in the eye with a rock; the townspeople circulate a false story that he was shot in retaliation for Taylor's death. The black townspeople stage a protest honoring Taylor in which they enter the town swimming pool. Peejoe and his brother, Wiley, join them in support, but the protest is interrupted by police and white pro-Confederates. Lucille wins $32,000 in Las Vegas while playing roulette at a casino, and subsequently pays for a personal driver, Norman, to bring her to Los Angeles. She arrives in Hollywood, taking the stage name Carolyn Clay, and manages to land a minor role on Bewitched. Back in Alabama, Peejoe and Wiley attend a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., and Peejoe's racist aunt Earline grows infuriated over the publicity involving the family. While watching television one night, they are all surprised to see Lucille on television. At an industry party in the Hollywood Hills, hostess Joan Blake discovers Chester's severed head in Lucille's hat box. Lucille flees with Norman to San Francisco, and tries to get rid of the head by throwing it off the Golden Gate Bridge. Two policemen, thinking she is about to commit suicide, stop her and discover the head. She is arrested and escorted back to Alabama for her trial, where she is met by a media circus. In the local jail, Lucille is incarcerated in a cell next to Nehemiah Jackson, Taylor's father who has been jailed over the protest. After being convicted of first-degree murder, Lucille is sentenced to twenty years in prison. However, the sentence is suspended when she earns the judge's sympathies after testifying to the abuse she received, and she is put on a five-year probation with the condition that she seek psychiatric help. Lucille, her children, and all her friends joyfully exit the courtroom while the sheriff (through Peejoe's testimony) is put under arrest for Taylor's murder. 

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In this sequel to The Briar King, Anne, her maid Austra, and her protectors Cazio and z'Acatto are working to earn passage by sea to her home in Eslen, while trying to keep a low profile. Anne and Austra experience further trials with their friendship and Anne learns more about her destiny and undergoes a transformation into a mature and powerful adult. Sir Neil, against his wishes, and still haunted by the death of his love, Fastia, travels south to find Anne and meets with treachery and unexpected kindness. Meanwhile, Aspar, Winna, and Stephen Darige are tasked by Praifec Hespero to hunt down and kill the awakened Briar King. However, they discover that his presence might not be as harmful as the Church fears and discover more evidence that makes them question the Church's motives. Queen Muriele governs Eslen with a much wiser hand than her husband ever did, but she is faced with many challenges and finds unexpected allies. The book ends with her in prison after a palace coup by her brother-in-law Sir Robert, who has literally returned from the dead, but she has managed to keep her son safe and out of harm's way. In addition to the familiar characters from The Briar King, The Charnel Prince introduced a new main character, a composer and a musical genius Leovigild "Leoff" Ackenzal. Heading to the royal castle to meet the late king William. Leoff accidentally stumbles on an evil plot to drown the Lowlands under waters. He helps to thwart the attempt and becomes a small hero. This helps him to get a position as the court composer and to start his masterwork, an opera-styled musical composition that brings together singers and an orchestra of 30 players for the first time in the history of the world. However, to finish his work, he has to find his way through the complex political situation of the court and the censorship of Praifec Hespero. 

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The story begins in a small Highland school classroom. Geordie MacTaggart is a "wee" (small) Scottish schoolboy, and the son of a gamekeeper. Although his best friend Jean does not mind his height, after he sees a newspaper advertisement for a bodybuilding correspondence course offered by Henry Samson, he sends for the course and embarks diligently on Samson's fitness programme. By the time Geordie turns 21, he has grown into a tall, fit man who continues to follow Samson's long-distance instructions. Jean, however, disapproves of the amount of time he spends training. Geordie works as assistant to his father, the local laird's head gamekeeper. One day, when they are out together in a storm, his father becomes ill. Geordie carries him home many miles, but his father develops pneumonia and dies. The laird (Alistair Sim) makes Geordie the new gamekeeper. One day, he gets a letter from Samson, who suggests he take up hammer throwing. On his first attempt, he almost hits the laird, who then tries to show him how it is done. However, the laird's own hammer throw almost hits the local minister, who is passing by on his bike. It turns out that the minister is knowledgeable about the sport, and he trains Geordie. At the minister's urging, Geordie reluctantly enters a Highland games. He initially makes two bad throws, but after the unexpected appearance (and encouragement) of Jean, he wins with his final throw. Two members of the Olympics selection committee visit him and invite him to join the British team for the Melbourne Olympic Games in Australia. Geordie is once again reluctant, as he does not particularly care to compete against others, but finally agrees. He takes the train to London, where he finally gets to meet Henry Samson, who has come to see him off when he boards the ship for Australia. Unhappy to be away from home, Geordie finds it difficult to be enthusiastic about training on board ship. However, Helga, a Danish female shot putter, takes a shine to Geordie and talks him out of his mood, though Geordie remains oblivious to the fact that she is attracted to him. When they reach Melbourne, Geordie goes sightseeing with Helga before the Games, buying a highly unusual hat for Jean. An accident occurs nearby, and a man is pinned underneath a car. After several men working together are unable to lift the car, Geordie manages to do it all by himself. His feat is reported in the newspapers, and he becomes very popular. A problem arises: Geordie insists on wearing his late father's Black Watch kilt in the opening ceremony, something he had promised his mother he would do. When he is told that he must wear the same uniform as the rest of the team, he states "no kilt, no performance!" Not having received a reply from London, Lord Pauceton, the head of the British team, gives in. After Geordie comes out last in the opening parade of athletes in his kilt, Pauceton receives a telegram emphatically ordering him not to let Geordie wear his kilt, but he ignores it. During the competition, a listless, dispirited Geordie fails with his first two throws. Then, before his third and final throw, he finds inspiration by recalling Jean's encouragement at his first competition. He then makes a world record throw and wins the competition. However, Jean hears on the radio that Helga has rushed up, embracing and kissing Geordie in front of everyone in the stadium, and she is heartbroken. On Geordie's return, there is no one to meet him at the station apart from his mother and a driver for the trap. On the way home, they encounter the laird, who tells him that many think his actions have brought scandal to the glen. Geordie spots Jean fishing and goes to her. They argue, then fall in the stream. After they get out, Geordie shows her the hat he bought for her; she pretends to think it is "braw" (fine), and they kiss and make up. 

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Jake Stein (Frankie Muniz) is a 17-year-old who lives with his sick mother and grandfather in Brooklyn. He wants nothing more than to be a writer, but when his mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, Jake is sent to Miami to live with his father, “Zowie” (Harvey Keitel), a small-time “handicapper” who gives horse racing tips for a living. Not much of a parent, Zowie has shirked his fatherly responsibilities for most of his son’s life. Nonetheless, Jake is excited about the prospects of bonding with his father in sunny Miami. Jake quickly befriends Mark, a local rich kid, whose excessive drug use helps him get through the pressures of teenage life in Southern Florida, where the "in" crowd only cares about how much money one's parents make, who’s coming to one's pool party, and whether or not one is getting laid. As Jake tries to navigate the waters of his new home—while trying to connect with his eccentric father—he meets Marina (Amber Valletta), a famous model who is in town for a photo shoot; the two quickly bond. Jake reminds Marina of her younger brother, who died in a motorcycle accident, and Jake is unable to get over the fact that such a beautiful woman is interested in him. But just when things seem to be going right, all goes terribly wrong. Jake must figure out how to become a man, if he is ever going to finish writing his memoir. 

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Monsieur Bibot is a wealthy dentist. He lives alone in Paris, France, in a fancy apartment with his dog, Marcel, whom he often mistreats and abuses. One day, an impoverished old woman stops by Bibot's office to have her tooth extracted. After removing the tooth with a pair of pliers, making little effort to lessen the pain of the operation, Bibot is angry when the woman is unable to pay his fee in cash. Instead, she pays him by giving him two figs which she claims will make his dreams come true. Bibot scoffs at the thought of magical figs and refuses to give her any painkillers. Later that evening, Bibot proceeds to eat one of the figs as a midnight snack. He soon discovers that the old woman is right: Bibot finds himself walking Marcel in Paris in his underwear, stared at by the passersby, and the Eiffel Tower has drooped over. Everything from his dream the previous night has come true. Horrified and embarrassed by the mishap, Bibot vows to hypnotize himself to control his dreams so that he may become the richest man on Earth. This self-centered plan involves abandoning Marcel, whom he has continued to harm in more ways than one. Then one night, when Bibot is preparing dinner, Marcel quickly gobbles up the second fig sitting on the table. Bibot is furious and chases the dog around the house. Heartbroken over the fig, Bibot goes to sleep. The next morning, however, Bibot wakes up underneath his bed – as the dog. Bibot and Marcel have swapped bodies. Bibot is horrified and realizes that the dog was dreaming about finally getting revenge on his cruel master all along. Marcel, who is now in human form, tells Bibot it's time for his walk. Bibot tries to yell, but all he can do is bark. 

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The Japanese version is told in flashbacks framed by scenes of a reporter questioning the expedition after they have returned from their harrowing ordeal in the mountains. Five young friends, university students, have come to the Japanese Alps in Nagano during New Year's for a skiing vacation. Among them are Takashi Iijima (Akira Takarada) his girlfriend Machiko Takeno (Momoko Kochi), her elder brother Kiyoshi Takeno (Tadashi Okabe) and their friends Nakada (Sachio Sakai) and Kaji. Rather than the five of them skiing together, Kiyoshi announces that he will follow Kaji to the cabin of a mutual friend named Gen, and then meet the other three at the inn. Takashi, Michiko, and Nakada arrive at the inn, welcomed by the manager Matsui (Akira Sera), who informs them that a blizzard is approaching. The caretaker tries to telephone the remote cabin, but nobody answers. He tries to hide his concern, but nobody is fooled. While Takashi takes over trying to ring the cabin, Machiko stares out the window into the deepening storm. She catches sight of a shadowy figure shambling toward the lodge: a fur-clad young woman named Chika (Akemi Negishi), who lives in a remote village somewhere deep in the mountains. Chika is none too pleased to see so many visitors in the lodge, since the people of her village shun all contact with outsiders. However, the night is so brutal that she has little choice but to join them if she wants to stay warm. There is still no response from the cabin; and the little group is horrified to hear the sound of an avalanche thundering down a nearby slope. The lodge telephone starts ringing. Machiko runs to the phone; but no sooner has she put it up to her ear when she throws it back down again in horror. Through the earpiece comes the sound of screams, followed by a single gunshot. There is a moment of silence. Takashi picks up the receiver, he hears another agonized scream and the line goes dead. Chika puts her furs back on and slips away, unnoticed by the others. The next day, as soon as the weather clears, a rescue party goes off to find Gen and Kaji. Gen is found dead on the cabin floor while Kaji's body has been dragged out into the snow. Their injuries suggest they were attacked by something far stronger than a man. Of the elder Takeno, though, there is no sign. Takashi and Nakata find strange tufts of hair around the cabin, as though whatever had left them was absurdly large. But most disturbing of all are the enormous bare footprints leading off into the snow. The search team splits up, with one group bringing the dead men back to the lodge and the other continuing the search for Kiyoshi. By nightfall, there is still no sign of Kiyoshi and the leader of the rescue team informs the others that they will have to return to Tōkyo until the snow thaws. Six months later, the snow on the mountains have thawed enough for a proper search to be mounted, Takashi and Machiko return to the Japanese Alps with anthropologist Professor Shigeki Koizumi (Nobuo Nakamura) as leader of the expedition. There is little hope of Kiyoshi having survived, a fact which Machiko seems to have come to terms with; but if there is some clue what happened to him and the others, Takashi is determined to find it. Determining Kiyoshi's fate, though, is almost incidental to Koizumi's intentions: the main focus of the expedition is to find out if there is a previously unknown bipedal primate lurking in the area. When the party arrives at an inn, Machiko is distracted by a monkey in a cage. As she stops to feed it some treats, the shifty little man who seems to own the animal turns to the innkeeper and asks him who the Koizumi expedition might be. The innkeeper explains that this is a famous zoologist from the city who will be spending some time in the area. As soon as the innkeeper's back is turned, the little man sneaks out of the room and goes to find his boss. His boss is Ōba (Yoshio Kosugi), an animal broker of less-than-sterling reputation. His job is to capture animals for circuses and he has heard stories of one animal in particular that account for his presence here. When his lackey tells him a university scientist has come with a fully equipped expedition, Ōba has no trouble guessing what he is looking for. Ōba had thought he had the area to himself. But there may be an upside to Koizumi's competition. Ōba and his men can follow the expedition surreptitiously, make use of Koizumi's knowledge of the local wildlife and sneak in ahead of him when they start getting close to their target. Little does Ōba know that he is not the only one following Koizumi's progress. As the expedition gets further into the mountains, a white-bearded old man and his oddly shaped sidekick watch them warily. Late one night, as the expedition tries to get some sleep after the day's misfortunes, a very large shadow falls across Machiko's tent. A face of an ape-like creature appears at the tent window. The creature reaches into the tent and touches Machiko's face, causing her to wake up and scream. The Snowman runs off into the forest, while Takashi chases after him. Takashi loses his way and takes a bad fall. As he stumbles back to the campfire that he believes marks the expedition site, he is astonished to find himself surrounded by Ōba and his cronies. Ōba's men give Takashi a beating and casually toss him into a lethally deep ravine. Takashi is found at the bottom of the cliff by none other than Chika, the girl who appeared and disappeared so mysteriously during the snowstorm. Chika brings him back to her village, a place so isolated that it has had little or no contact with the outside world for generations and the population has become inbred and disfigured. There she tends to his wounds as he regains consciousness. She is the granddaughter of the white-bearded old village chief (Kokuten Kodo). When the village finds out Chika has brought an outsider into their midst, they become furious; but the chief, pretending to be reasonable, sends Chika out to bring an offering of game to the Snowman, who the villagers worship as a deity, while he confers with the others. She takes her grandfather at his word and leaves Takashi alone with them. They bind and gag him and hang him off a cliff to be eaten by the vultures. When Chika gets back, she is horrified to find Takashi gone. When she confronts her grandfather, the old man castigates her, both for defying tradition and for challenging his authority. He also beats her viciously with a stick. Chika goes off on her own up the mountain to nurse her injuries. Sitting alone on a rocky path, she runs into Ōba and his henchman. She mistakes them from members of Koizumi's party out looking for Takashi. Ōba seizes the opportunity to try to worm his way into the girl's trust. He trades her a shiny silver ring for some information on where the Snowman can be found. The gift of the ring persuades her and Chika marks the spot for Ōba by throwing a stone across the valley. Meanwhile, the Snowman is on his way back to its cave, with a freshly killed deer over his shoulder, when he sees Takashi hanging off a cliff by a rope. The beast calmly puts down the deer, pulls Takashi back up, unties his hands, shoulders the deer again and walks off without a second glance. Ōba and his men lug their traps and equipment up the mountain to the creature's lair. But when they get there, they make an astonishing discovery: there is a juvenile Snowman playing by the cave entrance. Ōba's eyes light up with fiendish inspiration: they will trap the young Snowman and use it as bait to capture the adult! The Snowman comes back a little while later and is horrified to find the cave empty. As he searches frantically for the little creature, Ōba's men remove the gag from the juvenile's mouth; its cries bring the Snowman storming back out of the cave. A heavy net falls on it, trapping the creature, and Ōba's men use chloroform to knock him out. Back in the village, Chika is still being punished for breaking the rules; and in the course of her punishment, her grandfather finds the ring. Chika admits that she has told the outsiders about the Snowman's lair. The old man and the other villagers arrive at the cave just in time to see Ōba preparing the unconscious beast for transport. When the old chief tries to intervene, Ōba shoots him. Terrified, the remaining villagers can do little more than jeer impotently and throw stones as the outsiders drag the Snowman away. The young creature has managed to slip out of his bonds and run away. Ōba is at first too excited by capturing the adult creature, and later too busy fending off the locals, to notice that the little beast has escaped. But the young creature has no intention of running away. When the truck carrying the Snowman starts off down the mountain, the juvenile springs onto the platform and works at undoing the ropes. Ōba finds himself the last surviving human as the adult creature begins to break his way out of the cage. In the chaos that results, Ōba ends up killing the juvenile Snowman. The adult grabs Ōba and throws him to a gruesome death. With its offspring dead, the Snowman, enraged and full of grief, runs back to the village and destroys it. Takashi makes it back to the camp and tells his story to his companions. The Snowman is then heard approaching their camp. The beast grabs Machiko while she is adding logs to the fire. The next day, the expedition spots smoke in the distance. They find the smoldering remnants of the village and Chika. Chika tells them about what happened and Takashi asks her where the Snowman's cave is. She then leads them to the cave. There, they find the bones of Kiyoshi, as well as the fragments of his journal. According to the last, fragmentary journal entries, Kiyoshi had been tracking the creature when he was caught in an avalanche. The Snowman had actually tried to save Kiyoshi's life, giving the injured man food and shelter. Going further into the cave, the party finds a large pile of bones of other Snowmen. Koizumi finds poisonous mushrooms growing near the bones and speculates that eating these mushrooms may have killed off the Snowman population. The creature storms in with Machiko over his shoulder. They chase the beast further into the cave, until it stops by a pit of boiling sulfur. Chika comes to the rescue, attacking the Snowman with her knife; she distracts the creature enough that Takashi is able to get a clear shot at it. The mortally wounded Snowman grabs Chika and drags her down with him as he plunges into the sulfur pit to certain death. 

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Willie Garvin has lost the will to live. He had worked for Modesty Blaise for six years in The Network, Modesty's criminal organisation, and rose to the position of her right-hand man and became her very best friend. Willie was on top of the world. But then Modesty disbanded The Network and retired, and Willie didn't know what to do with himself. He got involved as a mercenary in a South American revolution, but his heart wasn't in it. He was captured and is now sitting in a primitive prison, waiting listlessly to be executed. Fortunately, Sir Gerald Tarrant, head of a British secret service organisation, knows about Willie's situation, and he needs the services of Modesty and Willie for a very special mission. Sir Gerald visits Modesty and lays his cards on the table. Modesty is very grateful and agrees to help Sir Gerald as soon as she has rescued Willie. This is the start of the adventure. Sir Gerald's job turns out to be a perilous intervention against the criminal mastermind Gabriel, who intends to steal a huge consignment of diamonds. The action starts in the south of France, where Willie causes Paco (who is on Gabriel's payroll) to lose his head (literally). Then it's on to Egypt, where Modesty and Willie get captured by Gabriel's gang. The diamond heist succeeds, and the action moves to a small island in the Mediterranean where Modesty has to vanquish the incredible Mrs. Fothergill in unarmed combat. But then all of Gabriel's gang are in pursuit, and there is nowhere to run. 

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Karz is a military leader who has never known defeat. The huge Mongol is now assembling and training a large and well- equipped army of mercenaries in a hidden valley in the Hindu Kush Mountains bordering on Afghanistan. His objective: The invasion and occupation of oil- rich Kuwait. Karz does have one problem though; he lacks a couple of top lieutenants to command two sections of his growing army. His choice falls on Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, even though he knows they are not for hire. Meanwhile, Sir Gerald Tarrant, who runs a secret service organisation under the British government, has noticed that many mercenaries are being recruited by some unknown employer and disappearing. This worries Sir Gerald, and he asks Modesty and Willie to investigate. So while Modesty and Willie are looking for Karz (without knowing who they're looking for), Karz has Lucille (a child dear to Modesty and Willie) kidnapped, and commands Modesty and Willie to report for duty. There is no possible way that Modesty and Willie can both save Lucille and sabotage the invasion of Kuwait. Modesty plays a long shot and is forced to fight the fearsome Twins, two men joined at the shoulders, a four-legged four-armed fighting animal impossible to defeat. And even if she survives that fight, how will Modesty escape from the isolated valley so far from civilisation? Category:1966 British novels Category:Modesty Blaise books Category:Novels set in Pakistan 

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Canadian Dinah Pilgrim (blind since 11) and her sister Judy are vacationing in Panama. They're attacked on a lonely beach by a pair of gunmen, and Judy is killed and Dinah is taken prisoner. Willie Garvin is nearby and he intervenes, killing the two gunmen, and incidentally determining that they work for Gabriel, the villain from the first Modesty Blaise book. Willie and Dinah go into hiding, knowing that Gabriel can mobilise the entire Panamanian underworld to search for Dinah. Modesty comes to their aid, and a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues, with both Modesty and Willie barely surviving traps that should not possibly be survivable. Back in England, Modesty encounters Simon Delicata, a huge man with an ape-like build, and strength to match. A friend of Sir Gerald Tarrant is dead, and Simon Delicata is the killer. And Willie knows Simon Delicata from long ago, having been beaten senseless and near-fatally injured by him in a barroom fight. Then Dinah is brutally kidnapped, and it becomes obvious that Gabriel and Simon Delicata are working together. Modesty and Willie travel to Algeria and The Sahara to rescue Dinah. But they're up against the most formidable opponents they've ever crossed swords with. Literally in fact; Modesty has to defeat the fencing master Wenczel in a duel to the death, and he's wearing a protective steel mesh jacket. The final fight, set in an abandoned Foreign Legion fort, occurs with Modesty incapacitated from a serious sword wound and Willie having to go one-on-one unarmed against the man-ape Delicata. 

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Mischa Novikov had never even considered defecting from Russia until one day when his analysis of a satellite picture of a tiny bit of central Africa awakens an unbridled greed in him. Hidden in an almost inaccessible valley he can see untold riches, and he is the only man on earth who knows about them. Eight months later Novikov dies in a small hospital not far from his hidden treasure, the victim of Brunel's over-zealous torture. And a few days later Modesty Blaise happens by and intervenes when two of Brunel's men start interrogating Doctor Pennyfeather, who had been at Novikov's deathbed. Brunel refuses to accept that Novikov took his secret into the grave with him. The story moves to London where Modesty and Willie Garvin manage to sabotage one of Brunel's operations. But then Lisa, Brunel's adopted daughter, tricks Willie, and in France Brunel turns the tables and captures Modesty and Willie and Dr. Pennyfeather. Back to Africa, to Brunel's plantation, where Modesty finds herself imprisoned, alone and drugged and being brainwashed, while Brunel slowly tortures Dr. Pennyfeather. As if this isn't bad enough, Adrian Chance, Brunel's right-hand man, succumbs to delusions of grandeur and manages to coerce Lisa into killing Brunel. Adrian Chance then vents his deep-rooted hatred for Modesty by locking her and Pennyfeather in a huge cage with a vicious gorilla. But then the fuel store goes up in flames, and the story takes a surprising twist. Finally, during a fight with machetes and quarterstaffs, Modesty sinks lifeless to the ground, and Adrian Chance rushes in for the kill. Category:1971 British novels Category:Modesty Blaise books 

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Maude Tiller, one of the few female agents in Sir Gerald Tarrant's secret service, is miserable. Her last assignment involved her having to submit to sexually degrading treatment by Paxero, the man she had been sent to spy on. And she hadn't even learned anything about the rich and enigmatic Paxero to justify the disgusting things she had let herself be subjected to. Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin discover how their good friend Maude has been mistreated, and they decide to teach Paxero a lesson. But when they break into his villa on the outskirts of Geneva they unexpectedly find a Breguet watch that was a gift from Modesty to Danny Chavasse, a very close friend of Modesty's. Everyone thought Danny had died when a cruise ship sank two years ago along with some 30 other people, but finding his watch indicates that Danny's fate was not as simple as that. This is the start of the journey that leads to Limbo, Paxero's secret and hidden plantation in the jungles of Guatemala. Limbo is a bizarre community led by Paxero's domineering aunt Benita, farmed by slaves, very special slaves, rich and famous men and women who have been selected by Aunt Benita and kidnapped and will now spend the rest of their lives at hard labour, watched over by armed Special guards. The "last day in Limbo" occurs when Paxero decides to shut the plantation down, and orders the guards to kill all of the slaves – who now include Modesty, who has let herself be captured so as to infiltrate Limbo. Modesty leads a slave uprising, and Willie and Maude arrive just in time, after having hacked their way through the jungle. A final battle ensues, with Paxero and his heavily armed guards holed up in the big house, waiting for reinforcements to arrive by aircraft. 

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While sailing a small yacht single-handedly from Australia to New Zealand, Modesty Blaise rescues Luke Fletcher, the world-renowned painter, from drowning. But how in the world did Luke Fletcher end up adrift in the Tasman Sea, after having disappeared in the Mediterranean two months earlier? Luke Fletcher is not the only person from the world of the arts who has disappeared in the last couple of years, but he is the only one who has turned up alive later. Back in England, Modesty and her good friend Willie Garvin refuse to get involved in trying to unravel the mystery, preferring to leave well enough alone. But then Luke Fletcher is killed, and Modesty and Willie make it their goal to find out who is behind it all and bring him/her down. The trail leads back to the Tasman Sea, to Dragon's Claw Island, but Modesty and Willie make a mistake and find themselves in captivity. They've solved the puzzle of why certain people with artistic flair have disappeared, but will they live long enough to make use of this knowledge? Willie, ever the resourceful one, manages to break out of his cell, but then he's recaptured. After that the bad guys don't intend to give Modesty or Willie another chance to escape. They force Modesty to fight a gun duel against the Reverend Uriah Crisp, the gun-toting minister who has proven that he is faster on the draw than Modesty. Modesty is given her own gun and holster, her gun loaded with one bullet. She waits calmly as the crazy priest advances, a prayer book in one hand and a six-shooter on his hip. Category:1978 British novels Category:Modesty Blaise books 

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Ms. Pendergast, a middle-aged nanny operating the criminal force "El Mico", may not be your typical villain. But in the world of Modesty Blaise, who is? She and her two young charges, Jeremy and Dominic Silk, have made themselves the most potent underworld force in North Africa. In their latest triumph, they've stolen "The Object" an item of immense value. However, they've also suffered their greatest setback - Bernard Martel, a top lieutenant, has double-crossed them and stolen it back. Pursued and close to death, a delirious Bernard reveals to Modesty a series of obscure clues, setting her and Willie on a quest to recover The Object and rescue Tracy, Bernard's wife. From thrilling Tangier, to mysterious Marrekesh, to the grandeur of the High Atlas Mountains, Blaise and Garvin stop at nothing in one of their most riveting and action- packed adventures yet. Category:1981 British novels Category:British spy novels Category:Modesty Blaise books Category:English-language novels 

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"The Watchmen" is an international terrorist organisation that has sprung out of nowhere and is making major assaults, for example killing the entire Turkish Embassy staff in Madrid, wrecking a French nuclear power plant, and blowing up a dam in Utah. Nobody knows who they are or what their real motives are. CIA agent Ben Christie, an old friend of Modesty Blaise, is trying to infiltrate The Watchmen. But Modesty runs into Ben in San Francisco and blows his cover. Things go from bad to worse when Modesty tries to hang around to help Ben if necessary and gets captured by The Watchmen. She and Ben are held at gun point on a small fishing boat in San Francisco Bay as The Watchmen make final preparations to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Modesty manages to escape, but without gaining any way of locating The Watchmen. Back in England, she and Willie Garvin eventually get a lead on one of the top leaders of The Watchmen, Major the Earl St. Maur, formerly leader of a British Marine Commando battalion. Following St. Maur's trail to Madeira Island off the coast of Morocco leads to several surprises, not the least of which is that The Watchmen intend to kill the President of the United States and France, and Prime Ministers of United Kingdom and West Germany. This has to be prevented, of course, but before Modesty and Willie can get a warning out they are captured by The Watchmen and imprisoned and drugged such that they can not possibly escape. The Watchmen's plan: To leave Modesty's and Willie's dead bodies at the scene of the attack, clothed in Watchmen uniforms. Category:1982 British novels Category:Modesty Blaise books 

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The story of Scion mainly concerns Ethan, youngest prince of the Heron Dynasty. He is accompanied by Skink, a member of the Lower Races and his best friend. While the Heron and Raven Dynasties have been at war for hundreds of years, there exists at the beginning of the tale a relative peace between the two Kingdoms. This peace doesn't last. Ethan is later joined by Ashleigh, the princess of the Raven dynasty, and a bounty hunter named Exeter, who is a genetically modified humanoid. The main antagonist is Prince Bron of the Raven Dynasty, the older brother of Ashleigh. Bron is determined to kill Ethan and Ashleigh. The group experience many events, most notably a war between the Heron and Raven kingdoms, the establishment of a free nation for the lower races and an invasion by an army of mechanical robots. Skink is secretly an agent of greater powers, being a fragment of Danik. Bron's advisor Mai Shen is really a member of The First. The final issue ends with Ethan and his father caught in a nuclear explosion. An added short narrative scene, taking place hundreds of years in the future, assures readers that Ethan does escape the blast. 

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The headquarters of "The Hostel of Righteousness" is an old monastery on the small Greek island Kalivari. But this does not imply that the organisation is a particularly holy one. On the contrary, Dr. Thaddeus Pilgrim and his followers are among the most unholy people you could have the misfortune of meeting. By chance, Willie Garvin and Modesty Blaise are targeted by Dr. Pilgrim, who has an obsession for creating "interesting scenarios". Dr. Pilgrim sends Sibyl and Kazim, his two top assassins, to England to capture Willie Garvin and bring him to Kalivari under heavy sedation. There Dr. Janos Tyl subjects Willie to the most diabolical brainwashing possible for him; he is made to think that a woman called Delilah has brutally murdered Modesty, and that he must now avenge Modesty's death by killing Delilah. Willie is shown pictures of this she-devil Delilah, in reality pictures of Modesty Blaise. In other words, Willie is now programmed to kill Modesty on sight, at which point he will regain his memory, and presumably go insane when he realises what he has done. Modesty manages to pick up Willie's trail, and she eventually arrives at Kalivari, waiting until after dark to go ashore. Dr. Pilgrim has ensured that Modesty and Willie encounter each other in the old amphitheater, suddenly seeing each other when the spotlights are switched on. Willie doesn't hesitate a moment, he draws his throwing knife and throws it. The story does not end here, and soon Dr. Pilgrim's obsession with interesting scenarios goes horribly wrong (for him) when Sibyl and Kazim are killed in gladiator-style duels and Dr. Janos Tyl is felled by a heavy round shield thrown frisbee-style by Willie. And finally, the ungodly Dr. Pilgrim meets his fate at the hands of one of his own assassins. 

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Set in 19th century London, Jack Maggs is a reworking of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. The story centres around Jack Maggs (the equivalent of Magwitch) and his quest to meet his 'son' Henry Phipps (the equivalent of Pip), who has mysteriously disappeared, having closed up his house and dismissed his household. Maggs becomes involved as a servant in the household of Phipps's neighbour, Percy Buckle, as he attempts to wait out Phipps or find him in the streets of London. He eventually cuts a deal with the young and broke up-and-coming novelist Tobias Oates (a thinly disguised Charles Dickens) that he hopes will lead him to Phipps. Oates, however, has other plans, as he finds in Maggs a character from whom to draw much needed inspiration for a forthcoming novel which he desperately needs to produce. 

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A poor emigrant from Central Europe sailing from Hamburg to America is shipwrecked off the coast of England. The residents of nearby villages, at first unaware of the sinking, and hence of the possibility of survivors, regard him as a dangerous tramp and madman. He speaks no English; his strange foreign language frightens them, and they offer him no assistance. Eventually "Yanko Goorall" (as rendered in English spelling) is given shelter and employment by an eccentric old local, Mr. Swaffer. Yanko learns a little English. He explains that his given name Yanko means "little John" and that he was a mountaineer (a resident of a mountain area — a Goorall), hence his surname.Though the story does not explicitly mention Yanko being a Pole or speaking Polish, the surname "Goorall" clearly alludes to the Polish Górale. Thus Yanko's actual Polish name would have been Janko Góral. The story's narrator reveals that Yanko hailed from the Carpathian Mountains. Yanko falls in love with Amy Foster, a servant girl who has shown him some kindness. To the community's disapproval, they marry. The couple live in a cottage given to Yanko by Swaffer for having saved his granddaughter's life. Yanko and Amy have a son whom Amy calls Johnny (after Little John). Amy, a simple woman, is troubled by Yanko's behavior, particularly his trying to teach their son to pray with him in his "disturbing" language. Several months later Yanko falls severely ill and, suffering from a fever, begins raving in his native language. Amy, frightened, takes their child and flees for her life. Next morning Yanko dies of heart failure. It transpires that he had simply been asking in his native language for water.John Gerard Peters, The Cambridge Introduction to Joseph Conrad, Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 71. 

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John Bourgignon (Candy) is an amiable chauffeur and would-be drummer who is engaged to the daughter (Mills) of an extremely disapproving United States congressman (Hingle). As the wedding date approaches, Bourgignon's sleazy film-director friend (Levy) blackmails the senator into allowing him to record the ceremony, while Bourgignon runs afoul of a motorcycle gang and later finds himself kicked out onto the nighttime city streets while handcuffed to a dead man (Hudson). Worst of all, a local aerobics studio has become the front for an inept religious cult which has targeted the senator for assassination, and attempts to drug and brainwash Bourgignon into killing his future father-in-law during the wedding ceremony. In the end, with the questionable help of his even more hapless friend (Flaherty), Bourgignon more or less saves the day, and more or less lives happily ever after. 

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New England schoolteacher Nancy Willows leaves her school and fiancée David Parker to go to New York City for a career as a lyricist. Her neighbors across the hall are an easy going singer named Jerry Dennis and his hotheaded songwriter roommate Marty Adams who is incapable of writing acceptable lyrics for his songs. 

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A Runyonesque Roaring 20s musical comedy about a show girl who circumstance casts as an unlikely mob boss. 

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The Masters of Menace are a motorcycle club. When one of their own dies while testing his top fuel Harley, they decide to cross the country to go bury him. With the coffin in the back of the pick-up truck and the tight-butt lawyer in the front, their craving for beer combined with lack of manners will disturb quite a few people wherever they go, including the police. 

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Cory, a poor Chicago kid with a penchant for gambling, gets a job at a posh Wisconsin resort as a busboy. He takes a liking to glamorous socialite Abby Vollard, who is toying with the affections of rich boyfriend Alex Wyncott. Sabotaging her motorboat as a ploy to get close to her, Cory swims out to help, only to find Abby's kid sister Jen on the boat instead. She volunteers to assist his effort to win Abby's heart. Abby mistakenly believes him to be a guest at the resort. She invites him on a trip to New York, but when Cory tries to raise money at a poker game, a guest named Caldwell cleans him out. Abby is offended when she discovers that Cory's only a busboy and walks away for good. A year later, now in Reno trying to change his luck, Cory crosses paths again with Caldwell, only he turns out to actually be a professional gambler known as Biloxi. An ulcer prevents him from playing, so Caldwell partners with Cory, making him his proxy at the table. Together they return to Chicago when gangster Ruby offers them a chance to run an illegal casino. Cory sends an invitation to the grand opening to Abby, then slips away with her after fixing it so her fiance Alex can gamble and win. They begin a secret affair. Cory's behavior grows cruel and calculating, more so after he proposes to Abby and is coldly turned down. Biloxi is disgusted with him and breaks their partnership. Alex, who is now losing heavily at the tables, becomes aware that Abby is carrying on with Cory behind his back. He tips off the cops, who raid Ruby's gambling house. Cory tries to flee, but Alex shoots him in the arm. Ashamed of his behavior, Cory declines to prosecute. He goes to the airport, where an older and more beautiful Jen unexpectedly shows up and offers to come along. 

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Nita Holloway, a woman romantically involved with veteran actor Preston "Mitch" Mitchell, tries to persuade him to come out of retirement to appear in a Broadway play as the father of a character played by a new teen idol, Tony Manza. At his Connecticut farm, next-door neighbor Bill Tremayne asks to borrow Mitch's car. He goes to a party and meets secretary Janet Blake, who is trying to escape the clutches of her drunken boss, a dentist. Bill offers her a ride home in a rainstorm, but is a little too attentive to her liking. Soaked to the skin, Janet ends up knocking on Mitch's door. He permits her to spend the night while her dress dries. Nita arrives in the morning and mistakenly concludes an affair is taking place, and soon others assume the same. Mitch puts her on a train but also offers Janet a job as his own secretary. As the train leaves, he stumbles, injuring his back. Bill isn't worried at first because Mitch is obviously too old for Janet, but he comes to realize that she is indeed falling for Mitch a little more every day. Scheduled to ride Mitch's star horse in an equine contest, Bill jealously decides to ride another entry instead. Mitch must compete against him, bad back and all. Although he feels great affection toward her, Mitch ultimately realizes that Bill and Janet were meant for each other. He happily goes back to Nita, and is last seen on stage in the new Broadway play. 

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Corporal Paul Hodges, after a long period in an isolated Arctic base, wins a lottery and gets to Paris, France, on a three weeks leave. There he will be under psychiatrist lieutenant Vicky Loren's control. 

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A psychotic killer, Garland "Red" Lynch, uses a campaign of terror to force San Francisco bank teller Kelly Sherwood to steal $100,000 from the bank for him. Despite Lynch's threat to kill Sherwood or her teenage sister Toby if she goes to the police, Sherwood contacts the San Francisco office of the FBI, where agent John Ripley takes charge of the case. Ripley interviews a woman who implies that she is involved in some way in a serious crime, but before she can give Ripley the details, Lynch murders her. Sherwood continues to be terrorized with phone calls, an asthmatic condition making the unseen Lynch's voice all the more sinister. The FBI identifies the criminal, noting that Lynch has a record of convictions for statutory rape, forgery, criminal assault, armed robbery and murder. They track down his girlfriend, Lisa Soong, whose six-year-old son has just had a hip replaced. Lynch is paying all the hospital bills. Because of this, Lisa refuses to believe that Lynch is a criminal and will not cooperate with the investigation. Ripley nevertheless manages to get some information about "Uncle Red" from the boy. Lynch finally gives Sherwood a time and date to steal the money, and just to make sure that she does, he kidnaps her sister Toby and holds her captive. The climax is a chase through Candlestick Park after a nighttime baseball game between the rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. On-field action includes several closeups of Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale. Ripley and his men ultimately surround Lynch on the infield of the stadium. As Lynch takes aim at a police helicopter, Ripley shoots him and he dies on the pitchers' mound. 

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An outfit of U.S. soldiers is assigned to capture "Valerno", a village in Sicily, but upon arrival, they discover that the town has been expecting them and will willingly turn itself over to the Americans' rule, provided they are permitted to complete a soccer match and a wine festival. Romance and frivolity ensue, as a reluctant, by-the-book Capt. Cash (Dick Shawn) is persuaded by easy-going Lt. Christian (James Coburn) to go along with the locals' wishes. Mistaking the festival for an attack, Germans come to the Italians' aid, but the Americans accidentally end up conquering all. 

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A gangster named Scarlotti once saved private detective Peter Gunn's life, but now Scarlotti's been killed, and Fusco intends to take over the town's crime syndicate. Gunn and Lt. Jacoby are convinced that Fusco himself must be behind it. Gunn makes a visit to Mother's, the nightclub, and talks to Mother. Afterward, he has a romantic interlude with Edie but is interrupted to pay a visit to Daisy Jane, owner of The Ark floating brothel. She hires Gunn to find out who the killer is. When Gunn returns to his apartment, much to his consternation he finds Samantha "Sam" who tries to seduce him. Even worse, Edie and a hitman appear at the same time. Gunn contacts his informants, and after more killings, he and Jacoby descend upon Fusco who seems obviously guilty. Fusco denies it in front of the two, and in a later beating of Gunn, he denies it again, giving a deadline to Gunn -- to solve the murder or end up dead himself. 

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Set during World War I, the film centers on Lili Smith, a beloved English musical star, who is actually a German spy. The uncle who is her constant companion is really Colonel Kurt Von Ruger, a fellow spy and her contact with the German military. In hopes of gaining valuable information, Lili is instructed to use her feminine wiles on Major William Larrabee, a top American pilot flying with the British Royal Flying Corps. However, Lili begins to fall in love with Larrabee, compromising her clandestine espionage work and plunging her into increasingly dangerous territory. 

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An aging cowboy, Ross Bodine, and a younger one, Frank Post, work on cattleman Walt Buckman's ranch in Montana. A neighboring sheepman, Hansen, is in a long-running feud with Buckman. Ross has a dream of riding off to Mexico to retire from the hard work of the range, but he doesn't have much money saved up. Frank suggests they rob a bank and head for Mexico together. While Ross thinks this over, he and Frank brawl with Hansen's men at a saloon. Buckman intends to withhold their pay to make restitution for the saloon's damages. Desperate for money now, Ross agrees to the holdup. He takes banker Billings to town at gunpoint while Frank holds the banker's wife, Sada, hostage at home. Ross rides back with $36,000. Before making a getaway, he gives Billings $3,000 so that Buckman's other cowboys won't lose any pay they have coming. Sada tells her husband to keep the money and not inform the sheriff. A posse is formed that includes Buckman's two sons, hot-tempered John and easy-going Paul, told by their father that no cowhand of his is going to get away with breaking the law. Ross and Frank get as far as Arizona and go into town for supplies. Ross hires a prostitute while Frank plays poker. A card player dislikes Frank's winning of a huge pot and shoots him in the leg. Ross comes to his partner's aid and a shootout commences, leaving several people dead. Back home, Buckman and Hansen have a run-in that results in both their deaths. John and Paul hear about their father's fate from a Tucson sheriff. Paul wants to turn back but John becomes obsessed with fulfilling the old man's last request, catching the bank robbers. Frank refuses to see a doctor, and his leg injury grows much worse. Ross has to pull him behind a horse on a stretcher. Frank dies from the wound just before John and Paul turn up on the trail, where Ross is gunned down. Disgusted with the entire affair and sorry he had to shoot Ross, Paul rides off, leaving John alone struggling to return Ross' dead body to the scene of his crime. The movie ends with a flashback of Ross riding a bucking bronc while Frank cheers him on. 

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Dr. Peter Carey (James Coburn) is a pathologist who moves to Boston, where he starts working in a hospital. He soon meets Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O'Neill), with whom he falls in love. Karen Randall (Melissa Torme-March), daughter of the hospital's Chief Doctor, becomes pregnant and is brought to the emergency department after an illegal abortion. She dies there, and Dr. David Tao (James Hong), a brilliant surgeon and friend of Carey, is arrested and accused of being responsible for the illegal abortion. Carey does not believe his friend to be guilty and starts investigating on his own, despite strong opposition by the police and the doctors around the hospital's chief. 

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While filming on location at a race track, womanizing bit actor Spencer Holden, who lives life on one scam after another, overhears a couple of inept thugs named Binky and Turnip while they dope a race horse with a supposed undetectable super stimulant. The thugs find out that Spence overheard them and will do anything to catch him to prevent him from going to the authorities with the information. Spence, however, enlists the help of his best friend, drive-in carhop and aspiring restaurateur Dennis Powell, to bet on the race with that horse so that they can make some guaranteed money. Spence and Dennis end up having to outrun not only the thugs, who manage to put a few bullet holes in Spence's car, but also the police after they find Spence's bullet-riddled car and after the race horse, Sorry Sue, dies from the drugs. The plot also includes an antique player piano of which Dennis comes into possession, sympathetic but naive auction house employee Ellen Frankenthaler who is attracted to Dennis, and exotically beautiful Claudia Pazzo, the wife of local Italian mob boss Tony Pazzo, who is interested in buying the piano and whom Spence can't resist. 

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Harvey Fairchild is a wealthy, Malibu-based architect who is turning 60 and suffering from a form of male menopause. He feels aches and pains, real or imaginary, and seems unhappy with his professional and personal life. Harvey's patient wife, famous singer Gillian Fairchild, tries to cheer him with family get-togethers and an elaborately planned birthday party this weekend. But she secretly has worries of her own, a lesion on her throat, possibly cancerous, the biopsy results which she won't get until after the weekend. Whining his way through day after day, Harvey snaps at his pregnant daughter Megan and makes rude remarks to his actor son Josh. The miserable Harvey is furious with a client named Janice Kern who can't stop revising her plans for a magnificent house Harvey has been building, but he, wanting to get over his depression, succumbs to her sexual advances, although they don't go through with it solely because he can't get it up. Although a lapsed Catholic, he tries going to confession, only to discover that the priest to whom he is confessing is "Phony" Tony Baragone, his Notre Dame roommate and an old rival. He also consults a local fortune teller, Madame Carrie, sex with whom leaves Harvey with a severe case of crabs (pubic lice). Gillian bravely hides her cancer fear from the family, but finally, overcome with emotion, she confides in her friend and neighbor, Holly. Harvey threatens to spoil the birthday party for everybody. He is in such a foul mood that just because a friend named Belmont tells him a depressing story about an illness, he amuses himself by introducing Belmont to the crab-infected fortune teller, who, by coincidence, Gillian has hired to entertain at the party. Gillian warns her husband that he is going to lose everything if he continues to behave this way. During his party, Gillian's doctor arrives to inform her that the biopsy test results are negative and she is going to be all right. She takes Harvey aside to let him know just how precious life really can be. 

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Ad man Steve Brooks (Perry King)—a promiscuous misogynist and quintessential chauvinist—is invited to a deadly surprise party by three former lovers. Margo (JoBeth Williams), Liz (Lysette Anthony) and Felicia (Victoria Mahoney) try to drown him in the hot tub. When that fails, Margo shoots him point blank in the chest, and he dies. In Purgatory, God (voiced by Linda Gary and Richard Provost) tells Steve he has one chance at redemption. He is returned to Earth, alive, and told that he must find a female who truly loves him. If he fails, he will go to Hell. The Devil (Bruce Payne) thinks this is too easy. Steve's infamous charm might easily seduce some innocent. God agrees and Steve is transformed into a beautiful woman (Ellen Barkin). He chooses the name Amanda. After the change, Amanda/Steve goes to Margo, convinces her of his real identity and persuades her to give him lessons in being a woman. Telling everyone that Steve has run off "like Gauguin" and that she is his half sister, Amanda moves into Steve's life, convincing his boss at the advertising agency, Arnold Friedkin (Tony Roberts), to give her her brother's job. Part of that job is getting a plum account with lesbian perfume magnate Sheila Faxton (Lorraine Bracco). Steve expects to use his new female body as a weapon in his campaign to get the account and to win a woman's love. Faxton responds, but when it is time to follow through on the seduction, Steve balks. When he tells Margo about this, she reminds him that homophobia was one of the traits that made him so hateful. Amanda breaks up with Faxton, telling her that the romance was contrived to get her as a client. The agency keeps the account, but there is one more woman with reason to hate Brooks. Brooks prays to God for help, and the Devil appears, offering her a job with his operation. She refuses and goes back to a task she had started some time before: calling all the names in Steve's address book, hoping to find a woman who has something kind to say about him. Instead he discovers just how hated he is, how deeply he damaged countless women. In the course of the film, Brooks also gets a good look at how the other half lives, and the way men treat him —which is, of course, the way that he treated women—rankles. Steve's best friend, Walter Stone (Jimmy Smits), has been attracted to Amanda from their first meeting, and when despair sends her on a bender, he goes with her. They get drunk together, and they have sex—even though at this point Amanda has finally convinced Walter that she is Steve. In the morning, Amanda has no memory of the encounter and accuses Walter of raping her while she was passed out—the sort of thing he himself would have done. Walter is astonished, and insists that Amanda was not only awake but an enthusiastic participant. Steve recognizes the difference between the sort of man he used to be and the far bettering sort of man that his friend Walter is. Meanwhile, Steve's body has been found in the river, and Margo has planted her gun in Amanda's sofa, framing her for the crime. Amanda is found unfit for trial. In the mental hospital, she learns that she is pregnant with Walter's child. There are dangerous complications, but she insists on carrying the baby to term. Walter proposes, and Amanda reluctantly accepts: They are married. Months pass and, with Walter beside her, Amanda gives birth to a baby girl. The newborn infant gazes at her mother with love, and Amanda dies, having earned a place in Heaven. There is still one hitch, however. They must decide whether to spend eternity as a man or as a woman. The decision is difficult. They still have not made it when, five years later, they watch as Walter and their daughter bring flowers to her grave. God, in their dual voices, reassures the soul comprising Steve and Amanda that there is plenty of time. The audience never knows which—or when—they choose. 

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Particular aspects of Klingon society depicted include: * A strong Klingon emphasis on battle-related games. The title refers to a move in klin zha, a Klingon game with similarities to chess; in this particular variation, the "reflective" game, both players take turns playing one set of pieces. * Games played with living players. * Military strategy is the particular province of a military class known as "thought admirals," who hone their skills in "the game with living pieces." They also seek to learn how other societies think militarily by studying the games of those people. * The distinction between empire-building races—such as the Klingons, the Humans and Vulcans with their Federation, and the Romulans—and less driven races, whom the Klingons use as servants (kuve). The novel concerns an intergenerational conflict within the Klingon government, between a faction wanting war with the Federation and a faction desiring accommodation for fear of Klingon defeat. The Klingon ambassador and his associates play a surprising role in this conflict, one which remains secret until the publication of a "tell-all" book forty years later, one which is read by Captain James T. Kirk in the "framing" story. 

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In the kingdom of animals, the fox Renard is used to tricking and fooling everyone. Consequently, the King (a lion) receives more and more complaints. Finally, he orders Renard to be arrested and brought before the throne. 

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A hurricane nearly sinks the United World, a sailing ship holding 40 teenagers from all around the world. Most of them flee the ship in lifeboats, but the evacuating children are not counted, and five are left behind. The storm blows the battered ship across a reef into the lagoon of an uncharted island. The island, Tambu, is ruled by a supposedly 200-year-old immortal tyrant called "Q", who came to the island on one of several ships originally bound for New Holland. In the centre of the island is a valley in which the descendants of the original ship still live, in the manner of an 18th-century colonial community. Adjacent to Tambu is a smaller island, Malo, which is a barren wasteland. It is noteworthy because of a lagoon where prisoners are forced to dive for a "blue weed" which, according to the people of Tambu, is refined into a powder which the Q uses to extend his life. The five children befriend a local family, the Quinns, who help them remain hidden on the island in a swamp avoided by locals because it is, according to local myth, inhabited by the ghosts of the dead. Most of the episode storylines pit the children against the Q, who fears their knowledge of the outside world is a threat to his dominion of Tambu. 

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Jack Cull (a pun on the word "jackal") finds himself in a bizarre location called "Hell". A huge sphere with a sun in the center, Hell's population consists of deceased humans and demons; the humans have the same mind and body as when they died, there is no disease or famine, and deaths are reversed within hours. Earthquakes are frequent occurrences. Humans have taken control of Hell, and they have replaced the traditional inscription (as imagined by Dante), "Abandon all hope..." (written in Italian) with a new one: "Do not abandon hope" (written in Hebrew). Cull goes to his workplace, and hears that the mysterious "X", an analogue of Jesus Christ, has been killed by an unruly mob. Along with Phyllis and Fyodor, based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jack investigates his death. Travelling into a sewer, they find out that "Hell" is in fact a massive spacecraft, controlled by hyper-moral, ultra-powerful alien beings with the means of capturing many if not most of the souls they come upon, incorporating them in immortal bodies (provided they are fed regularly). However, the capturing of souls is an imperfect process, and many souls are lost to the void. Although the bodies are more or less immortal, there comes a time when the aliens destroy them when they feel the souls have progressed to an acceptable level. Even then, not all of the bodies are destroyed, and some continue on with the spaceship as it travels about the galaxy. 

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The book's credited co-writer, fictional journalist James Stevens, investigates the events occurring in 1970s Britain and the connection between them, the anarchist terrorist Victor Magister (also known as "the Master"), the organisation known as UNIT, their scientific adviser known as "the Doctor" and the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. 

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Bus Life follows the trails and tribulations of secondary school pupils on the way home from school. The includes stereotypical 'gangs' (or cliques) of people of the bus, such as "The Brainy Kids", "The Skaters" and "The Goths". The show breaks the fourth wall throughout the series. 

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Attacker You! is the story of ambitious and energetic thirteen-year-old junior high schoolgirl You (pronounced Yu) Hazuki, who moves to Tokyo from the Japanese countryside, where she lived with her grandparents, to live with her father Toshihiko, a cameraman recently returned from Peru, and attend Hikawa High School. You's mother is not in the picture, having left when You was very young. Also living with You and her father is her adoptive younger brother Sunny (adopted by Toshihiko while he was in Peru), who is very attached to his stepsister and tends to follow her everywhere she goes, including to school and to her volleyball matches. However, You's father is not supportive of her volleyball playing, and You is puzzled as to why he gets so angry about it. You is also a fan of Kanako Tajima, a television color commentator for volleyball games, and notices that her father also acts strangely whenever she watches Tajima on TV or sees a picture of her. You, who has exceptional jumping abilities, is passionate about volleyball and dreams of one day being a part of Japan's national women's volleyball team in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She joins Hikawa High's girls' volleyball team. Despite You's natural talents, her early days on the team are rocky, as she is initially clueless as to the mechanics and logistics of playing on a team and frequently clashes with the team's top player, the cold and arrogant Nami Hayase (who is made captain after the original captain, Kuro, is forced to quit because of a knee injury), and Nami's clique. In addition, Daimon, her coach, is severe to the point of near brutality (moreso in the anime, he wasn't as bad in the original manga) and behaves violently toward his players when they make mistakes or fail to live up to his expectations; after one match early in the series, he slaps every girl on the team across the face for allowing the opposing team to score one point (even though they won 15 to 1). In time, however, You's confidence and optimism build her into one of the team's best players. You also soon sets her eyes on Sho Takiki, the handsome, dashing captain of Hikawa's boys' volleyball team. Nami also favors Sho, which adds an extra dimension to the rivalry between her and You. The clingy You puts as much energy into trying to get Sho's attention as she does into her game, and even takes to attending extra training sessions coached by Sho in the morning before school just to be near him. In time Sho begins to fall for You as well, but eventually realizes that the true love of his life is sports, although You remains hopeful that she can win his heart one day. Eventually, You and Nami warm to each other and form a tumultuous friendship, which comes to a head when Nami joins an opposing professional team coached by the brutal Daimon. You also befriends ace attacker Eri Takigawa, a girl from a rival team, the "Sunlight Players"; You and Eri eventually join the same professional team. 

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The story, rather than held in Japan, moved to China. The events take place several years after the Seoul Olympics of 1988, when it stopped the plot of the previous series. The team of Dragon Ladies, after losing the championship, is likely to melt. Enter the scene to intervene three stars of volleyball: Yang Ming (Ms. Nishi), Nami Hayase and So Tachiki, the latter in the role of coach. Among the main characters is Woo Glin (Shoko Hota), a champion of Kung-Fu. Noted during a fight, Ming becomes convinced that her team could be reborn and, after passing an audition, Glin (Hota) enters to join. To further strengthen the team, Nami proposes to So to go to Japan to take Yu Hazuki, who in the meantime, after hard and constant training, is back in shape after breaking his Achilles tendon two years earlier during a game with her friend Eri Takigawa, who had an accident ended her Olympic career. 

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Shortly after a group of mouser robots destroy the Turtles' old home, they begin to attack their new home. Eventually the Turtles trace the robots back to Baxter Stockman's factory, where they save young April O'Neil. Afterwards Michelangelo gets on Raphael's nerves, making Raphael leave to the surface. At the surface, he is confronted by Purple Dragon thugs, and meets Casey Jones, who equally hates that gang. Afterwards Stockman develops for the Foot Clan invisible foot tech ninjas to capture Raphael, forcing the Turtles to rescue them and Donatello to use a cloaking device detector to properly fight the invisible ninjas. Afterward, they are confronted by genetically mutated beings. Once all four levels are completed, the Turtles strike on the Foot headquarters, where they fight Hun before going after the Foot leader, The Shredder. 

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A young man walks a scorching Cairo street. At the entrance to the city’s pivotal main square, he notices a succulent girl. Ineluctably drawn into her magnetic field, and the swirling, palpitating square ahead, he starts to fantasize about how he would talk to her, seduce her, rape her, love her, abandon her, cherish her were he, for example, a Brazen Rake, a Brutal Bohemian, a Sensitive Painter, or a Bald Mechanic, jumping from persona to persona as his imaginings become more and more feverish, while in his mind the girl goes through a similar series of transformations. These characters—a circus parade of Egypt’s contemporary human menagerie—are not, however, mere dress-up costumes to be donned and discarded at their author’s whim. They, and others who emerge from the side alleys of his mind, strut their stuff, accost one another, argue, and shout until eventually they leave him, on a scorching Cairo street, peering after an infinite succession of receding, parallel clamorous worlds, from whose possibilities he must draw his own conclusions. 

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During a speleological expedition deep in the caves of the Azores, Blake and Mortimer are cut off by their old enemy Olrik, trapping them in a gaseous cavern. Surviving the odds, they are captured by a race of technologically advanced men, who claim to be descendants of survivors from Atlantis. Then, immersed in a sinister plot led by Commander Magon to topple the wise Basileus and lead modern Atlantis in conquest of the surface world, they ally themselves with Crown Prince Ikaros to thwart Magon's megalomaniac plans. But the outcome is far from certain. Professor Philip Mortimer takes his vacation to São Miguel, an island of the Azores, to do a little speleology. While exploring a hole called by locals "O foro del Diablo", he finds a radioactive rock and cannot help making a rapprochement with the orichalcum mentioned by Plato, the mysterious metal of Atlantis, this legendary civilization so-called swallowed up by the waves. He then called to Captain Francis Blake to further exploration of this cave with him. But the two friends quickly discover that they are not the only ones interested in this case. Indeed, a foreign power, having intercepted the letter from Mortimer to the address of Blake, is interested by this potential source of nuclear energy and Olrik hired to retrieve the rock. He disguises himself as a native of the country and managed to accompany Blake and Mortimer in their exploration. Although Olrik is unable to retrieve the orichalcum, he managed to condemn Blake and Mortimer to stay trapped in the cave. Driven out by sulphurous fumes, the two friends have choice to go further in a tunnel, hoping to find another way out. After having escaped death repeatedly, they discover a wealth of orichalcum and eventually vanish, irradiated. When they wake up, not only are they perfectly healed but, they left the cave, finding himself in a futuristic world. They are taken to the head of the place which is called Basileus. It condemns them to stay until the end of their days in this place. Blake and Mortimer are placed under the protection of a certain prince Icare who explain the situation: they are in Atlantis. Indeed, 12,000 years ago, Atlantis ruled the world from an island in the middle of the Atlantic. But the collision between Earth and a huge celestial body caused the immersion of the continental coasts and island. The few survivors of the Atlantean civilization then decided to build a new and secret Atlantis in the bowels of the Earth. Since then, the Atlanteans, much more evolved than the inhabitants of the surface thanks to the immense energy source that constitutes the orichalcum, watching the surface of the Earth thanks to what earthlings call flying saucers. So that Blake and Mortimer are starting their new lives in Poseidopolis, capital of Atlantis, they are victims of murder attempts. He then appears to Icarus that Atlantis is threatened with a serious danger. To confirm his suspicions, he went secretly, accompanied by two earthlings, to the great gate that separates the Atlantis of the Kingdom to the barbarians. These are the descendants of wild peoples who lived on Atlantis and Atlantis were greeted in their underground area, now rejected in a territory behind the Great Gate as a result of attempts to revolt. The three men have reason to be wary as Magon, the phulacontarque, is the head of a conspiracy which, with the help of the barbarians, intends to overthrow the Basileus and invade the Earth's surface. Having got wind of the departure of Icarus and fearing the discovery of its projects, mago tries to destroy the shipment, but Blake, Mortimer and Icarus to survive. They arrive finally at the Gong sacred, above the great gate and tower which was once used to prevent Poseidopolis of a barbaric attack. That's when Magon and an escort of conspirators through this place to visit Tlalak, the King of the barbarians. The latter is recommended by Olrik, who, having suffered a fall in the cave, found himself at the Court of the King, seeing in this post to advise an opportunity to take revenge on men. But while Magon and Tlalak to discuss the terms of their alliance, Blake, Mortimer and Icarus appear, who took the identity of members of the guard of Magon in the sacred Gong. The three friends fled and split: Blake tries to warn Poseidopolis directly while Mortimer and Icarus take the low road. At the inland sea, Blake steals a boat to reach the capital, but, caught in a typhoon, it is brought back to its starting point where he is captured by the conspirators. Meanwhile, Mortimer and Icarus hide themselves in the ceremonial start of the barbarians with the help of Kisin, a barbarian acquired their cause wanting to avenge the death of his brother caused by Olrik. They reach the sacred Gong where they find Blake that there was held prisoner, and Mortimer manages to ring the gong. The three friends fly to Poseidopolis aircraft, but the attack has already been launched. When they reach the capital, the city is already half invaded by the barbarians thanks to sabotage of weapons of the Atlanteans by the conspirators. At the Palace, Magon finally unveils his coup in the Basileus as the King Tlalak and Olrik, followed by a horde of barbarians, enter the command room. All seems lost for the Basileus, when Blake, Mortimer and Icarus arise, having managed to reach the Palace through a secret passage. But in attempting to exterminate these spoilsport, Olrik accidentally triggers the opening of the floodgates that held the ocean: Atlantis is lost. The Basileus decides to engage the large evacuation planned for a very long: the departure of the Atlanteans to another planet with an armada of spaceships. And while Atlantis preparing to join other skies, barbarians, Tlalak, Magon and Olrik are facing the rising waters, and Blake and Mortimer are released and evacuated by a submarine remotely piloted by Icarus. Back on land, in the caldera of Sete Cidades, they attend the majestic departure of Atlantean ships. 

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The plot involves the Captain America/Superman inspired super-hero called "Captain Invincible" (also known as "Legend in Leotards", "The Caped Contender", and "Man of Magnet") who is active during Prohibition, World War II, and afterwards. Once a popular hero to all Americans, he is forced into retirement by McCarthy-style government persecution in the 1950s. A congressional investigation accuses him of being a communist, citing his red cape and "premature anti-fascism". He is charged with violating U.S. airspace by flying without a proper license, impersonating a military officer, and wearing underwear in public. He disappears from the public eye, moving to Australia and becoming an alcoholic. Thirty years later, his old rival, the super- villain "Mr. Midnight", re-emerges and steals a secret government super- weapon: the hypno-ray. The US government asks Captain Invincible to return, and the story follows his attempts to return to super-heroing and redeem his reputation. 

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Annapoorna lives with her son and daughter, and struggles to get by, trying to earn a living from the teashop near a railway station once owned by her now deceased husband. Her son Kannan does whatever he can to help whilst trying to continue his education, however this proves difficult and he fails his exams. His mother sends him to a military recruitment camp, hoping he will find employment. This seems to be the family's only hope, however this option is expensive. Eventually Kannan is admitted after Annapoorna pays a hefty sum of money to a man associated with the camp. Later, Kannan is killed in a stampede at the camp, and his bereaved mother brings his body back home in an ambulance. Annapoorna's daughter waits anxiously for the return of her mother and brother. 

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A prehistoric cavegirl named Tahra (Jezebelle Bond) with a penchant for passion finds pleasure in the company of archeologists when she is accidentally transported to the future. There she encounters two archaeologists named Richard (Voodoo) and Sharon (Kennedy Johnston). After several adventures, many of them sexual, Tahra's lover Tiko (Evan Stone) also finds his way to the future. Eventually, all of them are transported back to the time of Tahra. This story also has an unexpected science fiction twist ending. 

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The game is based in a dystopian future where Banglar, the President of the United States in 1993, issues martial law on the nation, with the military having total control over the law.Crash, Issue 1.90, page 52. A group of anarchist scientists led by Mulk decide that it is time to revolt against the government. Knowing full well that approaching the military themselves could be considered an all out suicide mission, the scientists create two androids that can sustain various forms of damage in order to do the mission for them. The robots, code named "Kunoichi" (red female) and "Ninja" (blue male), are sent by the scientists in order to end Banglar's tyranny once and for all. 

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Bobby finds a winning lottery ticket but Mike insists that it be returned to the rightful owner. Mike then invites people to the house to prove they are the owner but none are able to answer correctly what the original wrote on the back of the ticket. A local newscaster hears the story and Mike agrees to an interview in hopes of finding the original owner. As a montage of multiple stations discussing the Brady story, the original owner is being sentenced to execution on death row and is unable to claim his winnings. Since he is not able to find the original owner, Mike decides to donate the money to charity, which attracts the attention of the President of the United States, President Randolph. President Randolph then invites him to a press conference where the president is asked about his dealings with an oil drilling company that has been abusing the environment. President Randolph insists that he has never had any dealing with the company and swears to resign if he is disproven. The press then asks who will be his running mate and Carol suggests Mike. President Randolph agrees to pick Mike as his running mate and they are shown to win the election. However, just before the President and Mike are to be sworn in, evidence reveals that President Randolph has made dealings with the oil company and is thus forced to resign which makes Mike the new president. Mike then needs to select a new Vice President, and he picks Carol. He asks Congress for permission to appoint her and initially, the Speaker of the House, Sal Astor, is skeptical of Carol's abilities but she wins Congress over with a song and dance number. Mike settles in nicely as president and pushes to make the country even greater without playing into petty politics. Meanwhile, Veronica Dotwebb grumbles to Astor that he should be president and the two plot to overthrow Mike and Carol by ruining their image. Greg develops a crush on Veronica and she exploits him to divulge any useful information on his family. The Bradys are good and innocent but Veronica manages to spin their most innocent moments into huge scandals. She claims Mike is still involved with a woman from his past; Carol is accused of being a radical hippie when she protests the destruction of a park; Marcia is called promiscuous because she wrote about a fictional erotic encounter with Desi Arnaz Jr. in her diary; Greg accused of underage smoking because a cigarette container was found in his coat; Peter accused of bribery for getting a better grade after he compliments his teacher; Jan accused of cheating for getting a better grade on an essay; and Alice accused of drugging the food so the Bradys stay happy all the time. Although this plan garners significant news coverage, it is not enough to impeach the Bradys. Veronica and Sal devise a second plan to trick Mike Brady into informing the public that a world-ending asteroid is about to hit Earth. They succeed by switching a report from NASA regarding data from a space probe with Peter's science project. Mike address the public telling them he received a report from NASA that confirms a massive meteor is on a course and will cause global devastation. The Bradys are then transported to a secret bunker underneath the White House that will protect them from the ensuing danger. Sal Astor then seizes the opportunity to take power by calling an official press conference as acting president and mocks Mike Brady for falling for the hoax. Embarrassed, the public demands Mike's impeachment but Cindy overhears Sal and Veronica plotting and she informs the family so they can stop them. The Bradys break out of the bunker and interrupt the press conference to tell the truth. Mike then address the public saying they deserve to know the truth, and goes on to start telling the story of the lottery ticket and how he got to be president. 

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Ramón Ayala (better known as Daddy Yankee) stars as Edgar Dinero, a young man from the streets of Puerto Rico who gets tangled between the thug life of his neighborhood and the beat of his neighborhood. On that path Edgar encounters disruption among his crew men, while falling in love with an uptown girl from whom Dinero must conceal his strong ties with the violent neighborhood underworld. Dinero's first studio recording in New York City doesn't go well reflecting he has no energy, and sounding like he hasn't eaten. The uptown girl shows up in NYC and then he begins making strong recordings. Multiple gunshot scenes happen throughout the movie, in Puerto Rico and in New York City. The movie was mostly shot in the , a marginalized community, that reflects thug life in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Other places where filming took place were at Puerto Nuevo, in San Juan, and in New York City. 

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When Ida Willis (Mollie Sugden) gets a new job as housekeeper to Robert Price (Christopher Blake) and his wife Angie (Jennifer Lonsdale), she moves into their London flat and soon discovers that Robert is the son she gave up for adoption when he was a baby, and she proceeds to call him Shane, the name she gave him when he was born. Other characters include Ida's troublesome brother Wilfred (Harold Goodwin) and Robert's adoptive mother Cecilia Price (Clare Richards), an upmarket widow with whom Ida doesn't get on. In the fourth series they moved to the Yorkshire village of Little Birchmarch, where Ida befriends Robert's mousy receptionist, Miss Parfitt (Deddie Davies). 

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The story begins when Tecmo Knight, the brave ancient warrior, came to do battle with the diabolical beast known as 'Wild Fang'. But before he can meet this challenge, he must defeat Wild Fang's group of evil monsters. 

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Sasaki Nobuko (20 July 1878 – 22 September 1949), the model for Yōko Satsuki. Yōko Satsuki, oldest of three sisters raised by a "progressive" mother at the start of the twentieth century, is strong-willed but capricious. She falls in love with a journalist (Kibe), and marries him in a "love match", when arranged marriages were still the norm. However, Yōko is very quickly bored with the journalist, and suddenly decides to divorce him and return to her parents' house. The journalist is devastated by the brief marriage and divorce, but Yōko feels only contempt for him, and (in the opening of the story), when she sees him on a train, she completely ignores his existence. After her parents' death, and following pressure from her relatives and friends, Yōko agrees to marry a friend of a friend (Kimura) who has settled in Chicago in the United States. However, on the steamer from Yokohama, Yōko has an affair with a married purser (Kuraji), oblivious to the disapproving eyes of the other passengers. By the time she reaches the United States, Yōko decides not to marry Kimura. After taking money from the hapless Kimura, Yōko returns to Japan together with Kuraji. Yōko and Kuraji start living together, despite the fact that Kuraji remains married to someone else, and Yōko has to look after her younger sisters. However, Yōko fails to find happiness, as she struggles financially and bickers constantly with Kuraji. Kuraji proves unreliable, and eventually disappears with a police arrest warrant over his head. The novel ends on a dark note; first Yōko's younger sister falls ill and dies, and then Yōko dies as well, worn out by her constant struggle to escape conventional society and morality. Although she only wanted to live her life as an individual not bound by the constrictions imposed by others, Japan at the start of the twentieth century was not the right place or time for such freedom. 

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Odd Chapters The first narrator, Ben Marchand, is a teenager who is the son of a general commanding an anti-terrorism unit. At the commencement of the novel he is waiting in his room at Castle, his boarding school, for his mother and father to arrive. Reference is made to his having been shot in an incident on a bridge, and his mother occasionally refers to him as "Mark". The incident on the bridge is the event explored in the even numbered chapters. The perspective switches from Ben to his father, General Mark Marchand, who left his son's room after a brief conversation and came back to find it empty. The general reflects on how he volunteered Ben to deliver a message to the terrorists on the bus. Ben is subsequently wounded and much later, believing himself a coward, commits suicide from another bridge - after the first "death" of the title. The last odd-numbered chapter consists of apparent conversations between Ben and his father, which reveal that the boy is already dead. The general attempts to call back Ben in order to ask for forgiveness for making use of his sensitive son's perceived vulnerability when used as a go-between with the terrorists. They are not actually in Castle but in a mental hospital where the general, broken by guilt, is now apparently a patient. Even Chapters Miro is a Middle Eastern terrorist who is also a teenager. He and three other terrorists, Artkin, Antibbe and Stroll hijack a bus full of preschoolers on a trip to school camp. Miro is assigned to kill the driver of the bus, unexpectedly a teenage girl substituting for her uncle. Artkin starts handing candies laced with sedatives to the children, knocking them unconscious. One child is killed by the drugs, most likely of an overdose or heart condition. Because of this, Artkin orders Miro not to kill the bus driver right away so that she can calm the children on the bus. The bus arrives at the bridge. Miro explains to the driver, Kate, that he participated in the hijacking in the belief that this would assist in freeing his homeland. Kate, stunned by the savagery shown when one of the terrorists dances holding the dead child above his head, is determined to escape. She prepares to make use of Raymond, a child who has not taken the candy, and of the keys to the bus. Kate attempts to drive the bus away from the bridge but the engine suddenly stalls. Its occupants are forced to spend the night on the bridge, now surrounded by police and troops. The next morning, it is reported that ransom payments are commencing. However, the terrorists still demand evidence of the capture of Sedeete, the leader of their group. A few minutes afterwards, Antibbe is shot by a military sniper acting on reflex. The terrorists kill the boy Raymond in retaliation. Ben Marchand is sent with a stone from their homeland as proof of Sedeete's capture. Ben is briefly tortured and gives the terrorists misleading information as to the timing of a planned rescue attempt, which his father had deliberately passed to him. Soldiers attack the bus and free the surviving children. They kill Artkin and Ben is wounded in the cross-fire. In the confusion of the assault Miro escapes through the military cordon, forcing Kate to accompany him. Kate tries to convince Miro that Artkin was his father. The confused Miro does not believe this and shoots Kate, believing that she had been manipulating him. The girl dies thinking that her family would not know that she had been brave. Miro moves out to kill a passing motorist and make good his escape. 

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A willful little girl will not obey her parents and, having taken it into her head that she wants to see Frau Trude, goes in spite of all their warnings. She arrives terrified, and Frau Trude questions her. She tells of seeing a black man on her steps (a collier, says Frau Trude), a green man (a huntsman), a red man (a butcher), and, looking through her window, the devil instead of Frau Trude. Frau Trude says she saw the witch in her proper attire, and that she had been waiting for the girl. She turned her into a block of wood and threw her onto the fire, and then warmed herself by it, commenting on how bright the block made the fire. 

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Saddled with debt, the Prince of Wales is promised financial support from his father, the reigning King George, only if he marries his coarse and vulgar cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, despite her many faults. The marriage is a disaster from the very start; her efforts to achieve a semblance of grace and majesty fail miserably, and George has no qualms about flaunting his ongoing relationship with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey in front of his wife. The two formally separate after the birth of their daughter Charlotte, and George reunites with Maria Fitzherbert, whom he had wed years before meeting Caroline. The union was considered invalid because it had not been approved by the king and the Privy Council. Caroline is banished to a private residence in Blackheath and her contact with her daughter is restricted. She acts as foster mother to several children, and it is rumored one of them is her biological son. An investigation fails to prove the allegation, but Caroline is accused of improper conduct. She leaves the country to travel abroad, and reports of her scandalous behavior reach her husband on a regular basis. While she's away, nineteen-year-old Charlotte dies after giving birth to a stillborn son. George IV's accession to the throne brings Caroline back to Britain, and she is embraced by the public, much to her husband's distress. He orders his Prime Minister to destroy her reputation. Efforts to strip Caroline of the title of queen consort and dissolve her marriage by accusing her of committing adultery with commoner Bartolomeo Pergami fail, despite a long parade of witnesses. She arrives at Westminster Abbey to attend her husband's coronation on the arm of her loyal supporter, Lord Hood, but is turned away at the door. That night Caroline falls ill with what is diagnosed as an intestinal obstruction and, certain death is imminent, requests she be buried in Brunswick. When she dies shortly after, her final wish is honored by her friends. A plaque reading "Caroline of Brunswick The Injured Queen of England" is affixed to her casket. 

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The show was written by Brian and Jonathan Trueman (the former of whom was the writer of Danger Mouse) and was based in a fictionalized version of the Northern English village of Sabden, in Pendle, where treacle is (allegedly) a natural resource extracted through mines. However, the mines have run dry from overextraction, and the village may face destruction from a lack of economy. The main characters Wizzle and Rosie use a Treacle finder, similar to a water dowser, to discover a vein of treacle in the abandoned mines, bringing hope to the village. The two series focus on reopening the mines, and problems faced (such as exportation). One of the recurring support characters was the Moobark, a cross between a Friesian cow and an Airedale Terrier. There is an official website still maintained (but not updated) featuring the second episode of the first series, known as "The Great Escape". 

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The Green Odyssey is an adventure story, involving an astronaut named Alan Green stranded on a primitive planet, where he is claimed as a gigolo by a duchess and is married to a slave woman. Upon hearing of two other stranded astronauts, he escapes from the duchess, and sets sail to find them. However, because of the peculiar geography of the planet, there is a vast expansive plain, instead of an ocean to cross. Green uses a ship equipped with large rolling pin-like wheels along the bottom to traverse the plains of this world. After his escape from the duchess he is followed by his slave woman wife and her children (one is his). There follow several fairly standard adventure plots with cannibals, pirates, floating islands (that turn out to be giant lawnmowers), and the deus ex machina, a female black cat named Lady Luck. 

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In Texas, the Yelnats family has been cursed to be unlucky – a misfortune they blame on their ancestor Elya's failure to keep a promise to fortune teller Madame Zeroni years ago in Latvia. One day, Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongfully convicted of stealing a pair of sneakers that were donated to charity by baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, and is sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, in lieu of jail time. He arrives to find that the camp is a dried up lake run by the warden, Louise Walker, her assistant Mr. Sir, and camp counselor Dr. Kiowa Pendanski. Prisoners who are known by their nicknames – including Zero, Zig- Zag, Armpit, Squid, X-Ray, and Magnet – spend each day digging holes in the desert; they may earn a day off if the inmates find anything interesting. During one night, Mr. Sir rescues Stanley from a yellow-spotted lizard, which he warns Stanley are aggressive, venomous, and lethal. After finding a golden lipstick tube initialed K.B. and a fossil, Stanley is accepted into the group and is given the nickname Caveman. After taking the blame for Magnet's stealing of Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds, Stanley is taken to the warden's house where old wanted posters and newspapers lead him to realize that "KB" stands for Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow, a school teacher turned outlaw from the past. Walker asks Stanley to grab her box of nail polish and mentions that it contains rattlesnake venom. After he and Mr. Sir explain what happened with the sunflower seeds, Walker injures Mr. Sir and allows Stanley to return to his hole. Camp Green Lake's history is revealed in a series of flashbacks: In the 19th century, Green Lake is a flourishing lakeside community. Barlow is involved in a love triangle with the wealthy Charles "Trout" Walker, whom Barlow rejects, and an African-American onion seller named Sam, whom Barlow loves. One night, the jealous Walker and the town's citizens burn down the schoolhouse and kill Sam. In retaliation, Barlow kills the local sheriff who ignored her pleas for help and becomes an outlaw hunting down Walker's men; at one point, she steals Elya's son Stanley's chest of gold. Twenty years later, the now-bankrupt Walkers track down Barlow and demand she hand over her treasure. Barlow refuses and tells them to dig for the treasure, after which Barlow dies from a lizard bite and the Walkers set about digging for the treasure. In the present, when Pendanski mocks Zero, whose name is actually Hector Zeroni, the latter hits Pendanski with a shovel and runs off. After some deliberation, Stanley searches for Hector. The pair have difficulty surviving in the desert without water. Eventually, Stanley carries the now ill Hector up the mountain where they find a wild field of onions and a source of water, helping them regain strength; at the same time, Stanley unknowingly fulfills his ancestor's promise to the fortune teller and breaks the curse. While camping on the mountain, Hector tells Stanley that he stole Livingston's sneakers and threw them over the bridge to evade the police, only for them to inadvertently hit Stanley's head. Returning to the camp, Stanley and Hector investigate the hole where Stanley found the lipstick and discover a chest before they are discovered by Walker, Mr. Sir, and Pendanski. They soon realize that Walker, who is a descendant of her family, is using the inmates to search for his treasure. The adults are unable to steal the chest from the boys, as the hole has swarmed with lizards, passive to Stanley and Hector due to the onions they ate earlier. The adults decide to wait for the morning, when the lizards will retreat to the shade. The next morning, the attorney general and Stanley's lawyer arrive, accompanied by police officers; the chest Stanley found is discovered to have belonged to his great-grandfather. Walker; Mr. Sir, who is revealed to be a paroled criminal named Marion Sevillo; and Pendanski, who is a criminal impersonating a doctor, are arrested. Stanley and Zero are released and it rains in Green Lake for the first time in over 100 years. The Yelnats family claims ownership of the chest which contains jewels, deeds, and promissory notes, which they share with Hector, who uses it to hire private investigators to locate his missing mother, and both families live a life of financial ease as neighbors. 

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Bill Kingsford, a prizefighter called the Panama Kid (Eddie Albert), returns to his hometown with his trainer Hotfoot (William Frawley (who later played "Fred Mertz" on I Love Lucy) and valet Snake Eyes (Mantan Moreland) when his father (Lloyd Corrigan) is accused of embezzling. Bill becomes involved with his father's ravishing secretary (Peggy Moran), who tips him off that she overheard a couple men planning to ambush Bill while he investigates his father's scandal. When one of those men is killed, police mistake the dead body's for Bill. He uses the time to solve the mystery and clear his dad's name. 

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In 1913, on the night before Jane Porter's wedding to John Clayton (also known as Tarzan, who is something of a celebrity) her bridegroom receives a disturbing vision of his childhood homeland in peril; The educated explorer and treasure seeker Nigel Ravens is seeking the legendary city of Opar, to plunder its ancient treasures and uncover dangerous powers. Much to Jane's distress and confusion, Clayton leaves for Africa to help, meeting up with the shaman Mugambe, whose village was plundered by Ravens to find a key to Opar. Just as Tarzan's efforts to negotiate with Ravens to turn back fail, Jane decides to follow her fiancé. While glad to see her, he must now protect her while trying to stop Ravens and his men from continuing their expedition. 

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Olwen is a young human woman living on the planet Isis as the keeper of the Light (a navigation beacon). Her parents having died, her only companion is a robotic DaCoP (Data Collector and Processor), called Guardian. On Olwen's 16th birthday (10th on Isis), the Guardian tells her that settlers are coming from Earth to Cascade Valley. Olwen is in distress thinking that these settlers will ruin her perfect world. Guardian explains that she must wear a special protective suit to protect her from the viruses and bacteria the settlers might be carrying. One of the younger settlers, Mark London, falls in love with Olwen, and Olwen wishes Guardian to allow her to see Mark without her suit. Guardian refuses. One day, Mark overhears Guardian discussing some of Olwen's blood samples with Dr. MacDonald and he thinks Olwen might be in trouble so he climbs up towards her house. When he sees Olwen, he suffers an accident and falls from the top of Lighthouse Mesa. This turns out to be because of his shock at Olwen's appearance under the suit. Later, Guardian tells Olwen the truth about the death of her parents, and his subsequent care of her as her mother wished. To keep Olwen safe, he changed her genetically, so the ultraviolet rays from Isis' sun, Ra, would not harm her, allowing her to climb to Isis' mountain heights. Shocked at the realization that Mark fell because of her, Olwen tries to enjoy playing with her favourite pet, a dragon-like native animal called Hobbit, when Hobbit is shot by hunting settlers. In rage, Olwen chases the Hunters back to the village. When the settlers see Olwen, they are disgusted by her appearance. Olwen refuses to wear the suit and vows to never go down into Cascade Valley again. During a sudden solar storm, Olwen rescues a young settler boy, Jody, who was outside in the midst of the storm. The settlers do not know how to react to Olwen saving Jody. The story ends with Olwen deciding to leave Cascade Valley, and live in isolation with Guardian. 

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Rajesh (Dharmendra) is a scientist. He is injured following instructions of Dr. Sharma in a secret experiment and granted leave. Rajesh lives with his dog, cook Bhola. He is in love with Rita (Sharmila Tagore). Rajesh goes to meet Rita and asks for her hand from her mother, who agrees. He finds his things spread on bed on returning to his hotel room. Shetty fools Bhola and takes pictures of Rajesh's house. Sharma calls him during his leave. He meets Sharma, but is surprised to know that Sharma did not call him. He and Sharma quarrel when he asks for leave to marry. Rajesh reaches office on being called by Sharma, but finds him murdered. Rajesh goes to call the police and returns with them to find the body missing. Intelligence chief Mr Roy and his assistant Mr. D'Mello ask Rajesh to take the murder blame of Sharma, so that miscreants after Sharma's research can be caught. Roy devises an escape plan for Rajesh, but it goes wrong and Rajesh is kidnapped by Shetty and taken to Mozambique. Rajesh is imprisoned and a look alike named Garson is sent to India. Garson is with blue eyes and a voice different from Rajesh's. Garson uses contact lenses and gets a throat operation to portray Rajesh's voice. His unconscious body is found in an Indian sea. Rita accepts him as Rajesh, although she has some misgivings after he touches the feet of another lady instead of Rita's mother. Rita is pregnant with Rajesh's baby. Garson is given a similar mole as Rajesh. Rajesh's dog and cook realize what has happened, so Garson kills them to avoid their exposing him. The authorities are also less trusting. The rest needs to be watched. 

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The story involves the highly successful New York City Gromberg family. Each member has their own set of problems. The father-son relationship difficulties is highlighted. Mitchell Gromberg is dealing with health problems resulting from a stroke. His son Alex works as a lawyer in the firm that his father founded, but he questions the usefulness of his work and his place in the family. Alex's son, Asher, does not take college seriously and seems lost. The youngest son is 11 year old Eli, who is extremely intelligent, while being socially awkward and is entering a difficult pre-adolescent time. Alex indulges in a thoughtless and careless brief romantic fling with Suzie at the soup kitchen where they volunteer. Psychologist wife Rebecca discovers panties and it threatens their marriage. When Evelyn Gromberg, Mitchell's wife and Alex's mother dies, the family comes together to heal. At Evelyn's funeral in suburban New York, Rebecca tells Alex that she knows about his romantic fling. Alex, Mitchell and Asher go fishing to talk about old wounds but nothing gets resolved. At college Asher is discovered with illegal drugs. Although devastated, Rebecca and Alex are supportive parents and vow to get help for Asher. He wants his girlfriend Peg protected. Alex's older brother Stephen dies. He and Mitchell give him a fine send-off and farewell. Back at home Alex is forced to sleep on the living room couch but Rebecca agrees to reconciliation terms. 

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The Avatars were immortal and lived like kings - even though their empire was dying. Their immortality was guaranteed by magic crystals, crystals whose influence was now waning. But when two moons appeared in the sky, and the ruthless armies of the Crystal Queen swarmed across the land, bringing devastation and terror, the Avatars united with their subjects to protect their universe. The story is set in the world of the Avatars - an immortal race of humans, who are convinced that they are gods, undying. Their empire was destroyed when the seas upturned. A few - around 200 - escaped when one of the spiritual leaders, Questor Anu, predicted the fall of the world. The group of 200 moved north from the city of Parapolis, to the city of Pagaru. The day after they arrived, the world was turned upside down, and Questor Anu gained the title of The Holy One. Other than the group who travelled with Questor Anu, the Holy One, about 300 other Avatars survived the end of the world. The Avatars rely upon magic crystals to keep them alive and healthy. Their power is fading, however, and an expedition attempts to recharge power chests by creating a link with their great power source within the previous capital city, Parapolis, which was covered in ice. They succeed - partly - charging four of the six chests. The chests are used to power the only Avatar ship, the Serpent Seven, as well as recharge the primary Avatar weapons - the zhi-bow. The zhi-bow is a bow that shoots the equivalent of plasma bolts. The humans who are ruled by the Avatars, known as the Vagars, are starting a secret rebellion in the remaining cities of the Avatar. The group calls themselves the Pajists - a group set out to see the fall of the Avatar. The Pajists are a group of assassins who are headed by a Vagar woman known as Mejana. Mejana is motivated to bring down the Avatar Empire by the killing of her daughter, who disobeyed the race laws by falling in love with an Avatar. She was crystal- drawn, meaning that her life force was sucked out of her and into the crystals of the Avatar, which grant them immortality. Crystal drawing cannot be infinitely continued, however, so Anu the Holy One begins the construction of a great pyramid which will supposedly absorb the suns energy and then power the crystals of the Avatar. However, the real purpose behind the pyramid is to destroy all the Crystals, as Anu foresaw the arrival of foreign invaders, led by a great crystal power. There are greater problems for the Avatar and the people with them, however. A people known as the Almecs, who are headed by Almeia, the Crystal Queen, managed to avoid the fall of their own world by teleporting their continent to the world of the Avatars. They learn of the Avatars, and their fragile position in the world. Thinking the Avatars will realize the obvious, they sail to the new capital city, Egaru, where they are greeted courteously by the Avatar rulers. They give a blunt message: hand over power to the Almecs and live, or fight and die. The Avatar council decides to fight, as they believe the war is winnable. Using the power of the Sunfire, a giant laser beam, they sink several Almec ships and force them off. The treasures of the other cities, power chests and the remaining Avatars, are called back to Egaru, which the Avatar council claims is easier to defend. From now on, the Avatar leadership moves fast. It reaches out to the nomad tribes and to the king of the 'mud men', Vagars living in an ordered society outside of Avatar rule. This move largely fails, with the mud men refusing help and subsequently being slaughtered. The next move on behalf of the Avatars is to repair ties with their Vagar underlings, largely the order known as the Pajists. The leader, Mejana, eventually comes over to the Avatar side, but many changes to the way things are run are made. The Avatar council becomes half Avatar, half Vagar, and the army's officers the same. This, however, leads to many poor decisions in the field, and the Almecs manage to besiege Egaru. After a long and costly fight for both sides, the Almec General, Cas-Coatl, proposes a truce between the two sides. The Vagar population will be slaughtered in order to feed the Crystal Queen's thirst for blood, but the Avatars will survive and be allowed into the Almec society. The Avatars gather in the town hall together to discuss this, but as they are doing so, Almeia, the Crystal Queen, discovers the true purpose of Anu's pyramid, which will destroy her when complete. She immediately orders the deaths of the Avatars, who were clustered together. The siege weapons of the Almecs kill all the Avatar who were not warrior males. Rael, the Questor General and leader of the Avatars, surrounds himself with the remaining members of his endangered species, his warriors. They, distraught over the extinction of their species, as all the females have been killed, prepare for a death ride. They charge the Almec line, hoping to destroy their siege weapons. They succeed, but all save one are killed. This move gives Anu time to activate his pyramid, which destroys the Crystal Queen and leads to the Almec defeat. 

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Set at the court of the harsh, but just Mughal Emperor Jehangir (Chandra Mohan), the film tells two separate love stories: the first of Mangal Singh (Ali) and Kanwar (Sheela) amid the violent feud raging between their families, and the second, the famous story of Jehangir and Nurjehan (Banu). Mangal kills the brother and father of his lover when they accuse him of dishonouring them and attack him. His father, the loyal Rajput chieftain Sangram Singh (Modi), captures his son and Jehangir passes the death sentence. Jehangir's claim that the law knows no class distinction is put on the test when a washerwoman (Akhtar) accuses Queen Nurjehan of having inadvertently killed her husband while shooting a bow and arrow. Since the washerwoman's husband was killed by the Queen, claiming to be acting in justice, Jehangir says that the washerwoman should shoot him in the same fashion, as he is the Queen's husband. All the courtiers protest and Sangram Singh says that the emperor's life belongs to the people and the washerwoman agrees to take compensation in the form of wealth. Nurjehan suggests a general amnesty for all prisoners, which is granted by Jehangir so that Nurjehan is then not a special case, thus Mangal Singh and Kanwar can marry. 

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Conundrum follows a boat of gnomes, named the Indestructable, to sail around the world of Krynn. However, when they reach the doorway to the bottom of Krynn, things change. 

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The back-story presented in the novel describes the first contact between the Shonunin and humans, which occurred when a damaged human probe with five crewmembers entered the Shonunin's home system. The contact, however, turned violent. It was not clear who fired the first shot, but the Shonunin, who had only recently put themselves into space, chased the crippled human ship for two years (the ship had lost the ability to jump through hyperspace) before overpowering it. Having suffered losses themselves, the Shonunin killed all the humans aboard. They knew the probe had been sending messages out of the solar system and the Shonunin, incapable of interstellar travel themselves, now feared retribution from the technologically superior humans. A Shonun, Dana Duun Shtoni no Lughn (Duun), was charged with the task of saving the Shonunin world from the potential threat the humans posed. Duun's solution was to raise a human child to adulthood who could serve as an emissary to his race and hopefully prevent a major conflict when humans return to the Shonunin system. Scientists cloned one of the dead human crewmembers to produce the male human child, whom Duun named Haras, meaning Thorn. Raising a human in their midst, an alien and the enemy, sparked fear among the Shonunin, but Duun elected to undertake the task himself, uncertain whether the creature would turn on him. The novel is set during the period following Thorn's birth, and the first chapters concern Thorn's infancy and early childhood. As Thorn grows, Duun trains him according to the ways of the warrior Guild to which Duun belongs, the Hatani. The Hatani are a class of warrior-judges revered by most Shonunin, and Duun believes that raising Thorn under the Hatani code will be the best possible preparation for the boy's eventual ambassadorial duties. To be Hatani is to be respected but isolated. But by raising Thorn to be one of their Hatani, he makes Thorn part of the framework of society, not an isolated experiment. 

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Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) receives news from his ex-fiancée, Willow Woodward (Kate Beahan), that her daughter Rowan (Erika Shaye Gair) is missing. He travels to an island off the coast of Washington state where a group of neo-pagans lives. The island is led by Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn), an elderly woman who supposedly represents the Goddess they worship. Sister Summersisle explains to Edward that her ancestors had left England to avoid persecution, only to settle near Salem and find renewed persecution in the Salem witch trials before arriving on the island. Sister Summersisle explains that their population is predominantly female, as they choose the strongest stock—evading Edward's concern about the birth of unwanted males. The island's economy relies on the production of local honey, which Edward learns has declined recently. Edward asks the villagers about Rowan, but they give him evasive answers. He later sees two men carrying a large bag that appears to be dripping blood and finds a fresh, unmarked grave in the churchyard. The grave turns out to contain only a burned doll, but Edward finds Rowan's sweater in the churchyard. At the village school, teacher Sister Rose (Molly Parker) tries to prevent Edward from seeing the class register. When he sees that Rowan's name has been crossed out, he becomes outraged at the teacher's and Rowan's classmates' lies. Rose insists that Edward talk with her outside. After a short discussion of the island people's view of death, she explains that capital punishment is used to enforce their laws. Edward asks how Rowan died and Sister Rose tells him that, "She'll burn to death." When Edward catches the tense she used, Sister Rose quickly corrects herself: "She burned to death." When Edward questions Willow about the grave, she reveals that Rowan is their daughter together. On the day of the fertility rite, Edward frantically searches the village for Rowan. Disguised in a bear suit, he joins the parade led by Sister Summersisle, which ends at the site of the festival. Rowan is tied to a large tree, about to be burned. Edward rescues her and they run away through the woods, but Rowan leads him back to Sister Summersisle. Sister Summersisle thanks Rowan for her help, and Edward realizes that the search for Rowan was a set up the whole time. It is revealed that Willow, known on the island as Sister Willow, is the daughter of Sister Summersisle and that Willow sealed Edward's fate many years ago, when Sister Willow chose him as a human sacrifice to restore the island's honey production (after Edward deliberately destroyed the beehives in their crop earlier). The villagers tackle and overpower Edward, viciously breaking his legs to prevent him from escaping, and torturing him with live bees (shown in the alternate version). They carry him to an enormous wicker man where he's hoisted high above the ground and shut inside. Rowan sets fire to the wicker man, and Edward is sacrificed in a giant blaze amid his screams. Six months later, a pair of off-duty cops walk into a bar and meet Sister Willow and Sister Honey. While Sister Willow goes to the bar with one of the men, Sister Honey asks to go home with the other, clearly to set him up the same way she had set up Edward. 

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The story follows one serial killer who uses the help of innocent taxi drivers to murder his targets. When The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India, has been made aware of a killer cab-driver in Malaysia who killed several people in a matter of hours and then crashed his taxi and killed himself. The same thing happened again, this time in Hong Kong, several people were killed by another cab-driver, who also ended up being killed. Now, this time in Dubai, it is the turn of taxi driver Nikhil Joshi (Emraan Hashmi). Nikhil is an Indian living in Dubai for a good life and is madly in love with a cabaret dancer named Rhea (Nisha Kothari). He is willing to do anything for Rhea and so is she. However, life has other plans for him when one night, a suave businessman named Vikram (Irrfan Khan) hails his cab. Nikhil discovers that this pleasant passenger has an agenda of his own and a rather sinister one at that. Vikram holds Nikhil hostage in a bizarre plot to bump off various people who would testify against the dreaded don Jabbar (Zakir Hussain), who is at risk of being deported to India to face charges against him. As Nikhil helplessly becomes witness to one killing after another, he finds his life and dreams crumbling around him. He repeatedly pleads Vikram to spare him and hire another taxi but fails. Faced with the prospect of losing everything he has been working towards, he finally takes control of the steering wheel of his life. He stops dreaming and starts acting, as he begins to pit his wits against the dangerous assassin. Killing one after another, Nikhil seems to be the prime suspect, that's why Vikram plans to kill him in his taxi and flee, however Nikhil fights back and dares Vikram by risking his life. After a series of murders of witnesses against Jabbar in the same night, the CBI officer and local Police Officer (Sanjay Batra) are closely on trail of Nikhil, who they assume to be The Killer. Nikhil destroys the laptop of Vikram which contained the information of the witnesses in his hit-list. Vikram forces Nikhil to pose as Vikram and seek the particulars of the remaining two witnesses in the hit-list from Jabbar by meeting him personally in his mansion. Nikhil does so and procures the same and hands it over to Vikram, who had been waiting for him outside in the taxi. Nikhil decides to risk his life to save the witnesses and races his taxi to the horror of Vikram. The taxi hits a kiosk and crashes. Vikram runs off for his next prey followed by Nikhil in chase. He fails to save the witness, who is shot by Vikram. Nikhil sees his girl-friend Rhea's name and photo in the mobile which fell off the fleeing Vikram. Determining to save Rhea from Vikram at any cost, Nikhil tries to contact her to warn her and flee, but her mobile gets discharged. He runs to warn her in the casino where she is dancing. The police and Vikram reach the place and just as Vikram shoots at Rhea, Nikhil leaps and pushes her away. In the melee following the gun-shots, when the police confront Nikhil as the suspect Killer, he informs them that it is Vikram who is the actual Killer. He manages to escape from the place with Vikram in chase after them. Finally, when Vikram confronts them and tries to shoot Rhea, Nikhil dares him to shoot him. The police shoot Vikram just as he is about to press the trigger of his gun. Thus Nikhil saves Rhea and they are happily united. 

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The evil green dragon Beryl oppresses the kingdom of Qualinesti with the aid of her Dark Knights.Fantastic Fiction: The Lioness. Retrieved on November 23, 2008. A resistance leader, a mysterious Kagonesti woman who is known as 'The Lioness' arises to battle her. 

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When his village is plagued by mysterious deaths marked by highly accelerated aging, Dr. Marcus calls in his Army friend, Captain Kronos. Kronos and his companion, the hunchback Professor Hieronymus Grost, are professional vampire hunters. Grost explains to the initially skeptical Marcus that the dead women are victims of a vampire who drains not blood but youth, and that there are "as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey". The discovery of another victim confirms Grost's explanation. Along the way, Kronos and Grost take in a local Gypsy girl, Carla, who had been sentenced to the stocks for dancing on the Sabbath. She repays them by helping them hunt the vampire; she later becomes Kronos' lover. Grost and Kronos conduct a mystical test that indicates the presence of vampires. Their findings are contradicted by an eyewitness who claims to have seen "someone old, very old", whereas a youth-draining vampire should appear youthful. Marcus visits the family of his late friend, Lord Hagen Durward, and speaks with Durward's son, Paul (Shane Briant), and his beautiful sister Sara (Lois Daine). He must leave before speaking with the bed-ridden Lady Durward. While riding through the woods, Marcus encounters a cloaked figure that leaves him shaken, and he finds blood on his lips. At a tavern, Kronos defeats thugs led by Kerro, who were hired by Lady Durward's coachman to murder him. Kronos, Grost, Marcus and Carla set up a network of alarm bells in the woods to announce the passage of vampires. Meanwhile, a large bat attacks and kills a young woman. Marcus realizes that he has become a vampire and begs Kronos to kill him. After various methods (including impalement with a stake and hanging) fail, Kronos accidentally pierces Marcus's chest with a cross of steel that Marcus had been wearing round his neck. Having thus determined the vampire's weakness, Kronos and Grost obtain an iron cross from a cemetery. They are accosted by angry villagers, who believe that they murdered Marcus. Grost forges the cross into a sword, while Kronos conducts a knightly vigil. After seeing the Durward carriage flee the scene of a vampire attack, Kronos suspects Sara as the vampire. Carla seeks refuge at Durward Manor to distract the household while Kronos sneaks inside. The "bedridden" Lady Durward reveals herself as the newly-youthful vampire, and she hypnotizes Carla and the Durward siblings. Lady Durward has raised her husband Hagen from the grave. She offers the mesmerized Carla to her husband, but Kronos erupts from hiding. Kronos uses the new sword's mirrored blade to turn Lady Durward's hypnotic gaze against her. He kills Lord Durward in a duel, and then destroys Lady Durward. The next day, Kronos bids Carla goodbye, before he and Grost ride on to new adventures. 

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In 1868, rumors of a sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean disrupt shipping lanes. Professor Pierre M. Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil, board a U.S. Navy expedition to investigate. They board a frigate, joined by cocky master harpooner Ned Land. After months of patrolling, a nearby steamship explodes; when the frigate arrives, the "monster" is spotted. As the frigate's crew open fire with cannons, the "monster" rams the warship. Ned, Conseil and Aronnax are thrown overboard. The crippled frigate drifts away, not responding to their cries for help. Clinging to flotsam, Aronnax and Conseil encounter a metal vessel, and realize the "monster" is a man-made "submerging boat" that appears deserted. Going aboard, Aronnax finds a viewport and witnesses an underwater funeral, while Ned Land arrives on an overturned longboat from their ship. Aronnax resists leaving just long enough for the submarine crew to spot him. Ned, Aronnax, and Conseil attempt to leave in the longboat, but the crew stops them. The captain introduces himself as Nemo, master of the Nautilus. He returns Ned and Conseil to the deck while offering Aronnax, whom he recognizes, the chance to stay. After Aronnax proves willing to die with his companions, Nemo allows Ned and Conseil to remain aboard. Nemo takes them to the penal colony island of Rura Penthe, where the prisoners are loading a munitions ship. Nemo was a prisoner there, as were many of his crew. Nautilus rams the steamer, destroying it and killing the crew. Nemo tells Aronnax that he saved thousands from death in war, and that this "hated nation" tortured his wife and son to death while attempting to force him to reveal his discoveries. In Nemo's cabin, Ned finds the coordinates of Nemo's secret island base, Vulcania, and releases messages in bottles. Off the coast of New Guinea, Nautilus becomes stranded on a reef. Nemo allows Ned to go ashore with Conseil, ostensibly to collect specimens, while admonishing them to stay on the beach. Ned goes exploring for avenues of escape, and finds human skulls posted on stakes. Ned rejoins Conseil, and they row away, pursued by cannibals. Aboard Nautilus, the cannibals are repelled by electrical charges sent through its hull. Nemo confines Ned to the brig for disobeying orders. A warship fires upon Nautilus, which descends into the depths, where it attracts a giant squid. After an electric charge fails to repel it, Nemo and his men surface during a storm to dislodge it. Nemo is caught in one of its tentacles, and Ned, having escaped from captivity, harpoons the squid in the eye, saving Nemo. Nemo has a change of heart and claims he wants to make peace with the world. As Nautilus nears Vulcania, Nemo finds the island surrounded by warships, with marines converging on his base. On the deck Ned tries to identify himself to the warships. Aronnax is furious, recognizing that Nemo will destroy all evidence of his discoveries. Nemo, having submerged Nautilus to enter his base, goes ashore and activates a prearranged time bomb, but is mortally wounded from a bullet to his back. After navigating the submarine away from Vulcania, Nemo announces that he will be "taking the Nautilus down for the last time". The crew declares that they will accompany their captain. Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned are confined to their cabins, while Nautiluss crew also retreat to their cabins at Nemo's instructions. Ned escapes and manages to surface the submarine, hitting a reef in the process, causing her to flood. Nemo dies viewing his beloved undersea domain. Aronnax tries retrieving his journal, but the urgency of their escape obliges Ned to knock him unconscious and carry him out. Aboard Nautiluss skiff, the three companions witness Vulcania explode and a billowing mushroom cloud rise above the island's destruction. Ned apologizes to Aronnax for hitting him, but Aronnax concedes that the loss of his journal might have been for the best. As Nautilus sinks, Nemo's last words to Aronnax echo: "There is hope for the future. And when the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass...in God's good time". 

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After a series of ugly battles and incidents, the dwarven community becomes increasingly isolationist in its city under the mountains. Unfortunately dark magic, backstabbings, betrayal and power grabs threaten to destroy the already destabilized dwarf society. 

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The story opens when Tyler Dupree is twelve years old. Tyler and his mother live in a guest house on the property of aerospace millionaire E.D. Lawton and his alcoholic wife, Carol. Tyler is friends with the couple's thirteen-year- old twins: Jason, a brilliant student who is being groomed to take over the family business, and Diane, with whom Tyler is in love. One night while stargazing, the three children witness all the stars simultaneously disappear. Telecommunications suffer as every satellite falls out of orbit simultaneously. Attempts to communicate with the ISS are unsuccessful. An opaque black "spin membrane" has been placed around Earth. The membrane has slowed time so that approximately 3.17 years pass outside the membrane for every second within, or 100 million years on the outside for every year within. The membrane is permeable to spacecraft, and it protects Earth from the harmful effects of concentrated stellar radiation and cometary impact. A simulated sun on the inside of the membrane allows for a largely normal life cycle to continue. However, the passage of time outside the membrane means that all life on earth will end in a few decades when the sun's expansion makes that region of the solar system uninhabitable. Jason becomes obsessed with gaining knowledge about the membrane and how to deactivate it. He studies science and eventually rises to run the day-to-day operations of Perihelion, an aerospace research firm that gets folded into the government and coordinates efforts to deal with the Spin. Diane joins the quasi-religious "New Kingdom" movement, a Christian sect that endorses hedonism and indulgence. She marries a man named Simon, whom she meets through the NK movement. Tyler attends medical school and becomes a doctor. Jason hires Tyler as a staff physician. Perihelion terraforms Mars, a process that is finished in a few months of subjective Earth time. When the terraforming is complete, Perihelion and its counterparts in other nations launch manned colonization missions. Two years after the terraforming process begins, Earth receives satellite images confirming the existence of agriculture and sophisticated human civilizations on Mars. Soon afterward, Mars is enclosed in its own Spin membrane. Before the membrane went up, the Martians sent their own manned mission to Earth. The Martian ambassador, Wun Ngo Wen, is part of a civilization hundreds of thousands of years old that has been experimenting with biotechnology for centuries. Jason, who has developed an acute form of multiple sclerosis that is incurable by terrestrial medicine, takes a Martian bio-engineering product that extends his life by decades, putting him into a fourth stage of life past adulthood. Jason and Wun Ngo Wen then seed nanotechnology throughout the outer solar system. This technology will eventually expand to other star systems over the course of millions of years and search for other worlds enclosed by Spin membranes, hopefully discovering why they were created and if anything can be done to stop them. Tyler leaves Perihelion and moves to California. There he gets a desperate call from Simon, stating that Diane is terribly sick. Diane and Simon had moved from the ashes of the NK movement to join a more cult-like fringe movement that was trying to hasten the Second Coming through genetic engineering of cattle. As Tyler heads to meet Diane, the Spin membrane seems to falter and fail, allowing the stars to return to the sky. The next day, the sun rises huge and red in the sky causing terrible heat and high winds. Millions across the world panic as the apparent end has come. Tyler finds Diane suffering from a fatal cardiovascular disease that crossed from cows to humans during the attempts by religious fringe to breed a totally red calf, which they think will bring out the end of the world. The only cure is to give her the same treatment that Jason has taken. He and Simon drive Diane back to Diane's childhood home where Tyler had hidden some of the Martian biotech. Simon, however, leaves Tyler and Diane and gives them his blessing, and is never seen again. Tyler discovers that Jason is at the house, dying of a mysterious ailment. Jason explains that he has become a human receiver for the nanotechnology they seeded throughout the galaxy. He also explains his conclusions about the nature of the Spin and the Hypotheticals who created it. The Hypotheticals are intelligent Von Neumann machines that spread throughout the galaxy billions of years ago. Horrified at the rise and fall of biological societies, they devised a plan to enclose planets on the verge of societal collapse in Spin membranes to slow their advancement until a way could be found to save them. Jason dies shortly after explaining this and has Tyler mail copies of the information to trusted informants. Tyler gives the Martian treatment to Diane, who recovers. Shortly after, the membrane partially reasserts itself, allowing the stars to be seen and synchronizing Earth time with that of the universe, but filtering the solar radiation to a survivable level. It's discovered that the Spin membrane had been retracted to let a massive ring descend and embed itself in the Indian Ocean. The "Arch", as it becomes known, acts as a portal to another world, one engineered by the Hypotheticals to give mankind a new chance at life. A decade after the appearance of the Arch, Diane and Tyler, now married, flee from agents of the United States government who seek to arrest them for possessing forbidden Martian technology. Tyler takes the same cure that Jason and Diane did, becoming a "Fourth" himself, and Tyler and Diane pass through the Arch with a group of Indonesian refugees. They scatter Jason's ashes in the crossing between Earth and the other world so that he finally can be at peace. 

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A middle-aged man, Unni, and his three sisters struggle as the feudal way of life becomes unviable in Kerala. Eventually, succumbing to the adverse conditions surrounding him, Unni becomes helpless like a rat in a trap. The 'rat trap' is a metaphor for a state of oblivion to changes in the external world, such as the disintegration of the feudal system, in which some are caught and which leads to destruction. Gopalakrishnan says in his interview that the movie was inspired by the feudal characteristics of his own family. Silence is a huge trope in the move, with large swathes of silence in dialogue. The film is set in the now derelict manor house of an aristocratic family, that has obviously seen better days. Unni, the patriarch, in spite of the looming changes in the family's fortune and the times retains the old attitude and is portrayed as proud, and incapable of adjusting to the impending downfall of his family and himself, and remains oblivious to it. He is shown to spend most of his day in idleness and sleeping. His only activities are reading the paper and oiling himself. He cannot take care of himself without his sisters, and cannot face the taunts and the threats of his extended family and the villagers. He needs to be propped up by his sisters who cook for him, clean for him, and do chores for him. He is incapable of negotiating the changing outer world. The chief theme of the film, according to Gopalakrishnan, is Unni's obliviousness to external realities. The sister Rajamma is destroyed by the silence of her brother, who does not support her when she wants to get married - he turns down an offer because he felt it was beneath his family - and keeps silent when she is ailing and dying. Rajamma wears blue. Gopalakrishnan says he gave her blue to show her gentleness, submissiveness, and being doomed. She is incapable of imagining how to chart her life outside the patriarchy. She is shown to be constantly working for others and faithfully looking after Unni. The eldest sister wears green according to Gopalakrishnan to show earthiness, practicality and intelligence- she has survived within the patriarchy by marriage and bearing children. She worries about wealth and how to feed her family, and her main concern is to claim her share of the family property and income. She is portrayed as intransigent and self-centred. The youngest sister, Sridevi wears red, which Gopalakrishnan says is to symbolize revolt, youth and life. She is very pretty and highly concerned about her looks. She runs away from the family, presumably with a lover. Unni, according to Gopalkrishnan, is given a mixture of all three colours- white. The feudal characteristics of the patriarchy is shown through the way Unni treats his servants, the various people who visit him and most importantly how he treats Rajamma, his sister who takes care of him. The music is throbbing, incomplete throughout the movie to show the sense of sustained urgency, that the crippling patriarchal structure results in (symbolized by the crippling mansion which is infested with rats). The rats are caught by Sridevi and drowned just like Unni is eventually destroyed by the decline of the feudal way of life. 

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The story concerns Samuel Marten, an anxious 23-year-old junior executive on his way to meet with a potential customer. When Marten sees a passing truck that says Lewkowitz and Sons, Wholesale Clothiers, he unconsciously turns the name into Levkovich, then finds himself wondering why. Every time he sees some version of the name, he becomes more distracted. Marten's business meeting goes badly, and afterwards he wanders the streets of New York City, following a trail of Lefkowitzes, Lefkowiczes and Levkowitzes. He arrives in Central Park, where an old man in outdated clothing is sitting on a park bench. The old man is Phinehas Levkovich. Levkovich is on his deathbed, decades earlier in Czarist Russia. His wife and sons have died, his daughter Leah has emigrated to America, and he is alone. He has prayed for a chance to meet a son of Leah's line, and his prayer has been granted. Phinehas is Marten's great-great- grandfather; Marten is Leah's daughter's daughter's son, the first son to be born to her family. Marten asks for his great-great-grandfather's blessing, and the old man gives it, then adds, "I go now to my fathers in peace, my son." Time snaps back two hours. Marten is on his way to his business meeting, and he finds himself free of anxiety, for he somehow knows that all will be well with him. 

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The larger theme of the film is centred on India's caste system, though it is depicted as a film within a film. In a small village in Madhya Pradesh, two different communities fight over a water pump installation. When a member of one of the communities, Nathu (Kishore Kadam) decides to protest against a decision he feels is unjust, he angers the local land owner, who decides to impose economic sanctions on the community in an effort to starve them out of the village. When Nathu's house is burned down under mysterious circumstances, Nathu seeks the comfort of a temple, and prays for a solution. Instead, he finds himself abused and beaten by the land owner for breaking a rule that bans members of Nathu's community from entering the temple. It later emerges that the situation in the area is being used as a plot for a film made in Bombay, however characters featured in the film are misrepresented, which leads to tension on the set and eventually violence erupts. 

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In the prologue, set in May 1958, John Talbot, owner of Trans Carib Air Charter Co, is at an airfield in British Honduras, awaiting radio contact with one of his aircraft en route to Tampa, Florida, which is being piloted by his twin brother and in which his wife and baby son are passengers. Not long after he establishes contact the aircraft is attacked by a P-51 Mustang, after which all contact is lost. Two years later Talbot is on trial for robbing a bank. At a point where his guilt is in doubt, new information comes to light implicating him in the death of a police officer. Now desperate, he escapes by taking a young woman hostage from the court room and stealing a car. However, he is tracked down by a private detective, Herman Jablonski, who reveals that the young woman is Mary Ruthven, daughter of oil millionaire General Ruthven. Jablonski turns Talbot over to the General and his three business associates - Vyland, Royale and Larry (Vyland’s drug-addict son) - who, instead of turning him over to the police, hire him for an unspecified task, retaining Jablonski to keep him under guard. In a plot reveal, we discover that Talbot and Jablonski, a former police officer, have engineered the scenario, for reasons as yet unknown. Talbot slips out of the General's house and travels to an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, searching it for signs of something out of the ordinary. On his return he finds Royale and Larry burying something in the grounds of the General's house. After they have finished he discovers that they were burying Jablonski's body and, now needing another ally, persuades Ruthven's British chauffeur, Kennedy, to help him. Talbot returns to the house and next day is taken to the oil platform, where he finds that Ruthven and his associates need Talbot to operate a submersible. Talbot carries out another reconnaissance of the platform, in the process killing Larry who had been suspicious of him. Managing to avoid further discovery, he and the remaining two associates use the submersible to investigate the wreck of a DC-3. Talbot turns the tables on his captors, revealing that the wrecked aircraft contains the bodies of his family. The aircraft was shot down by Vyland's associates in order to steal its cargo of gold; they have been threatening the General and his family to force him to provide the necessary resources. Talbot has been working for the authorities all along and convinces Vyland and Royale that, after temporarily disconnecting the submersible’s oxygen supply, he is now ready to die on the ocean floor beside his family, eliciting a terror-stricken confession from the two men, their fear of death being the key that unlocks the confession, which is relayed to witnesses on the oil platform. Talbot then returns to the oil platform, where Vyland throws himself to his death from a ladder. Royale survives to be tried and sentenced to death, Mary and Kennedy end up together and Talbot, politely turning down General Ruthven's offer of any reward of his choosing, walks off alone. 

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Sonny and Cher appear as themselves in this spoof of various genres, including mysteries, westerns and spy thrillers. The plot revolves around a film contract offered to Sonny by powerful executive Mr. Mordicus, played by George Sanders, who also plays the antagonist in each of Sonny's ideas for the proposed film, which are played out in a number of skits featuring music and dancing by the star duo. 

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The play is set on the first floor of a house in Mayfair, London in 1929. The story, thought to be based loosely on the Leopold and Loeb murder case in 1924, concerns two young university students, Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo (whom Brandon calls "Granno"), who have murdered fellow student Ronald Kentley as an expression of their supposed intellectual superiority. At the beginning of the play, they hide Kentley's body in a chest. They proceed to host a party for his friends and family at which the locked chest containing his corpse is used to serve a buffet. Suspicion arises among the guests as to the content of the chest. After the party, one guest, a former professor of the murderers, returns and contrives to open the chest. He is shocked and ashamed that they have acted in response to his own declarations of amorality. The play ends with this quandary unresolved. 

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Something goes awry at a particle accelerator facility in St. Louis and a black hole begins to form. A creature exits the hole and seeks out energy. As the creature absorbs energy, the black hole grows in size and destroys a large part of St. Louis. Before the creature can be hit with a nuclear bomb, it is lured back to the black hole and the black hole collapses on itself. 

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In this teen romance, a neglected 15-year-old English boy named Paul Harrison (Sean Bury), living in Paris with his wealthy businessman father, befriends an orphaned 14-year-old French girl named Michelle Latour (Anicée Alvina). She is recently arrived in Paris to live with her cousin but soon finds the situation in her cousin's Montmartre apartment to be disturbingly unwholesome. Together, Paul and Michelle decide to run away; they travel to the idyllic marshlands of the Camargue where Michelle has in her keeping a very small cottage. She and her recently deceased artist father periodically escaped to the cottage from their home in Arles. There, Paul and Michelle set up housekeeping, become lovers, have a baby, and play at being responsible adults. Along the way, both Paul and Michelle discover many of the troubles that can be involved in family life. Ultimately, however, police searching for Paul find the two. The movie ends before the family's inevitable confrontation with the police. 

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Return to Mysterious Island follows Mina, a strong young woman alone on a round-the-world sailing expedition. Caught in a tremendous storm, she becomes stranded on the shores of a wild and apparently uninhabited island. As she explores her new surroundings, she uncovers artifacts, living spaces and technologies left behind by the people who came before her to this uncharted island. Creating a new life, Mina builds a home from the remains of the previous settlements and uses her survival skills against the wilds of the jungle. She soon becomes aware of a figure in the shadows who, seemingly aware of her troubles, offers her assistance. She eventually identifies this figure as the unsettled ghost of Captain Nemo, whose body is located in a cave on the island. Piecing together the hints and clues he provides, Mina must retrieve his body and give him a proper burial in order to free his tortured soul, and then travel to the Nautilus deep below the island shore to unlock a way to escape the island. 

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The series was set on Earth-Two and began with the discovery of Batman's diary (the Pre-Crisis Earth-Two Bruce Wayne had been murdered by a criminal named Bill Jensen prior to this adventure as indicated in this story) which indicated that the Justice Society was guilty of treason during World War II and conspired to cover up their treason after the war was over. The group is put on trial and their history is reviewed. All the historical adventures involving the JSA are recalled, and details are added. It eventually reveals that the diary is a hoax created by Batman in an effort to have the JSA apprehend Per Degaton at a future time that Batman believed he would not be alive for. Degaton is apprehended by the Justice Society, but he apparently commits suicide at the end of the story (though he would return in later stories; these are younger versions of the character, so it may simply be that this fate was still in his future, at least prior to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and its follow-up series Infinite Crisis). This overall premise was inspired by the then-recent revelation that the so-called Hitler Diaries that had been published were, in fact, fakes. One major part of the story (#2, "Trial by Congress") depicted the events which surrounded the retirement of the Justice Society in 1951. It showed how the team chose to disband rather than appear in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded that they unmask themselves (this committee was modeled after the real-life U.S. government proceedings in the 1950s that were part of McCarthyism). Those events had beeb explored in more detail in a story in Adventure Comics #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!"; December, 1979) by writer Paul Levitz, which was the longest (and last) JSA story in Adventure prior to the cancellation of the series. Throughout the series of AvJS, many other past JSA stories were similarly retold as part of the examination of their history which took place at their trial (covering all of their cases originally published in All-Star Comics #3-57, All-Star's revival in the 1970s (#58-74), all of the JLA/JSA team-ups told in the pages of Justice League of America up to that point, the cases in Adventure Comics, and the cases told in All-Star Squadron up to that point). 

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In 1937, on the day of King George VI's coronation, Clarence Sale, a myopic removal man is clearing the house of a snooty upper-class lady who is moving abroad. There, he meets Jane Travers, her maid. The pair are mutually attracted and soon Clarence proposes to her. Jane decides that they should have a trial period of living together in a small cottage she has been given in an inheritance to see if they are compatible, with a bolster in the bed to preserve her chastity. The series followed this unconventional relationship, as well as Clarence's attempts at his furniture-moving profession. 

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The novel is set in the early 1990s when Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, a 30-year veteran of police work who appreciates fine food and drink, cuts short his vacation to help the police chief of the remote town of Kaalbringen and his small crew investigate two ax murders. Another identical murder occurs in the weeks leading up to the retirement of Police Chief Bausen and it's expected that solving them would not only complete their work while Van Veeteren is available, but would be a high point for Bausen's career exit. Bausen is determined that the cases are solved quickly and the public is safe again before he departs. At a loose end in Kaalbringen, Van Veeteren accepts Bausen's collegial hospitality. A widower, Bausen generously shares from his expensive wine cellar and together they draw close over a love of chess. The sympathetic Van Veeteren wants to resolve the difficult investigation for his old friend's sake, which Bausen also appreciates. The problem is that the killings are random with the victims completely unrelated, and the murderer is too clever to be found or even noticed. Significantly the corpses are discovered axed precisely in the same way with a butcher's chopper which shows the killer's attention to detail. Just when it seems that the Ax Murderer – so dubbed by the press – is on a roll, the killings stop at three. The work to find a connecting thread is shared by a crew that includes Beate Moerk, a dedicated, single female colleague with dreams of becoming a private detective; Münster, a detective whose career is creating cracks in his marriage and family life; and others like the nerdish Kropke who bring their professional skills as well as their personality traits to bear. All strive to solve the puzzle as time runs out, especially when Beate Moerk goes missing while jogging late at night. 

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Hamilton "Ham" Hammond is an American trader who lives in the Venusian Hotlands in the late 21st century. He makes his living collecting xixtchil spore-pods from the native Venusians, which are used to make a rejuvenation drug on Earth. When Hammond's shack is sucked under the surface by a mud- spout, he must make his way across 200 miles of hot, humid, hostile Venusian jungle to reach Erotia, a settlement in the American part of the planet. Hammond comes upon a human dwelling which, contrary to custom, is locked. He forces his way inside and is confronted by Patricia Burlingame, daughter of the late British explorer Patrick Burlingame. As Hammond is in the British part of Venus, Burlingame denounces him as a poacher. A confrontation between the two is interrupted by the arrival of a doughpot which wrecks Burlingame's dwelling. The two grudgingly set aside their differences and travel west to the Cool Country, saving each other's lives on several occasions. Their truce ends when Hammond wakes to find that Burlingame has emptied his xixtchil pods onto the ground, exposing them to the destructive spores. Now destitute, Hammond angrily sets off north toward Erotia, leaving Burlingame to make her way south through the impassable Mountains of Eternity to the British settlement of Venoble alone. After a time, Hammond suffers an attack of conscience, turns, and follows Burlingame south. He catches up with her in the foothills of the Eternities just before a huge doughpot traps them in a box canyon. Hammond is able to get off two shots of his flame pistol at the doughpot before the barrel shatters, reducing the thing's size but still leaving them trapped. They decide to go deeper into the box canyon, but in the darkness they are set upon by Triops noctivivans, vicious nightside-dwelling cousins of the Venusians. The trioptes drive them back toward the doughpot, dosing Burlingame with a soporific drug that renders her unconscious. Hammond is forced to make his way past the doughpot on a low, narrow shelf of rock while carrying Burlingame. The two make it past the doughpot; when the pursuing trioptes arrive, they stop chasing the humans and start eating the doughpot instead. When Burlingame revives, she admits that instead of destroying the xixtchil pods, she had actually stolen them. She returns them to Hammond, and agrees to come with him to Erotia. She also agrees to marry him. 

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Casares (Federico Luppi) and Carmen (Marisa Paredes) operate a small home for orphans in a remote part of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Helping the couple mind the orphanage are Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), the groundskeeper, and Conchita (Irene Visedo), a teacher who is also involved with Jacinto. Casares and Carmen are aligned with the Republican loyalists, and are hiding a large cache of gold that is used to back the Republican treasury; perhaps not coincidentally, the orphanage has also been subject to attacks from Francisco Franco's troops, and a defused bomb sits in the home's courtyard. One day, a boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at the home with two republicans; they both ask Casares and Carmen to take him in because his father died fighting the nationalists. Casares and Carmen take him in, and the boy soon strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jaime (Íñigo Garcés), a boy with a reputation for tormenting other kids. But Carlos soon begins having visions of a mysterious apparition he can't identify, and hears strange stories about a child named Santi who went missing the day a bomb appeared near the orphanage. The bomb is lodged in the dirt at the center of the courtyard, having been dropped from a warplane months before. It was deactivated before it could detonate, but was impossible to pull from the ground. Carlos is befriended by two boys his age, Galvez (Adrian Lamana) and Owl (Javier Gonzalez-Sanchez), with whom he shares his toys and comic books. On his first night at the orphanage, Carlos is dared by Jaime to sneak to the kitchen for water after their pitcher spills in the dormitory. Carlos agrees, but dares Jaime to accompany him. As the boys cross the courtyard, Jaime whispers that he believes the bomb is still active, as he can hear its "heart" ticking within. The boys reach the kitchen, but Jaime sneaks back to the dormitory, leaving Carlos alone. Carlos hears a chilling whisper from an unknown source, which tells him eerily that "Many of you will die." Frightened, Carlos dashes outside, but is caught by Jacinto. At breakfast the next morning, Dr. Casares demands that Carlos give up any accomplices who snuck out with him the previous night. Carlos refuses to rat Jaime out, and takes full blame. Jaime begins to trust Carlos at last. Jacinto has been at the orphanage since he was a boy, and harbors a passionate hatred for it. He works on the property along with his fiancee Conchita, but has an affair with Carmen. Jacinto knows of the stash of gold hidden at the orphanage, and uses his sexual relationship with Carmen as an opportunity to take her keys and search the building for the loot. The boys, meanwhile, tell Carlos of the ghost that they believe haunts the orphanage. A boy called Santi (Andreas Munoz), a recent resident and friend of Jaime's, had vanished on the night the bomb was dropped. Strange sighing noises are heard at night, and the boys believe it is the ghost of Santi. Carlos decides to locate the ghost himself. He sneaks out again that night, and encounters the ghost: a pale, delicate figure of a young boy with blood flowing upwards from a wound in his head. The ghost pursues Carlos back into the building, and a terrified Carlos spends the night hiding in the linen closet. Later on, after flipping through Jaime's sketchbook, Carlos finds a drawing of a ghostly figure labeled "Santi," leading him to suspect that Jaime knows more about the subject than the other boys. After witnessing some harsh war brutality in the village nearest to the orphanage, Dr. Casares convinces Carmen that they must evacuate the children to a safer location. Jacinto hears of this plan and confronts Carmen, demanding the stash of gold and crassly bringing up their sexual relationship in front of Dr. Cesares. Enraged, Casares turns a gun on Jacinto and forces him out of the building. As the orphans and faculty prepare to leave, Conchita discovers Jacinto pouring gasoline around the kitchen, in which he had placed numerous other cans of fuel, and preparing to ignite it. Horrified, she threatens him with a gun, and shoots him in the arm when he mocks her. Furious, Jacinto throws his lit cigarette to the floor, starting a raging fire, and flees the building. Conchita alerts Carmen and Casares, who order the children out of the building before the many cans of gasoline in the kitchen explode. Carmen and fellow- teacher Alma attempt to stifle the blaze, but fail to prevent the devastating explosion. Alma is swallowed by the inferno, and many of the children are killed (just as the ghost had predicted). An injured Casares finds Carmen, mortally wounded, inside the wrecked building, and tearfully stays with her as she dies. He and the surviving boys, including Carlos, Jaime, Galvez, and Owl, remain in the charred orphanage, with Casares promising not to leave them. He sets up a chair by a front window and waits there with a shotgun for Jacinto's return. The following night, Jaime finally tells Carlos the details of Santi's disappearance. Jaime and Santi had been collecting slugs at the cistern, when by chance they spied Jacinto attempting to open the safe where the gold was kept. Jaime ran and hid, but Jacinto cornered Santi and attempted to threaten him into keeping his mouth shut about what he had seen. In anger, Jacinto shoved Santi against a stone wall, resulting in the boy receiving a severe head injury and sending him into shock. Jacinto, panicking, tied stones to Santi with ropes before sinking the body in the cistern. A terrified Jaime emerged when the coast was clear and ran into the courtyard, only to have the bomb land several feet from him moments later. Jaime explains that he is no longer scared of Jacinto, and will kill him if he ever returns. Conchita, having survived the explosion, is making the long walk to the nearest town for help when she meets Jacinto and his two cronies driving back to the orphanage to claim the gold. Jacinto threatens her with a knife, telling her to apologize for shooting him. Despite knowing the danger of angering him, she insults him, and he stabs her to death. Carlos has one more encounter with Santi's ghost, and is no longer afraid after hearing the story of Santi's death. The ghost quietly demands that Carlos bring Jacinto to him. Carlos agrees. Dr. Casares finally dies of his injuries while still sitting by the window with the gun. Jacinto and his associates reach the orphanage, and imprison the orphans in one room while they search for the gold. The two other men eventually grow impatient and leave, but Jacinto soon uncovers the stash- hidden in a secret compartment of Carmen's prosthetic leg. The orphans know that Jacinto will kill them once he finds the gold, but Jaime encourages them to fight back, as Jacinto is only one man. The boys fashion weapons from sharpened sticks and broken glass, and escape their room (with help from the ghost of Casares). They attack Jacinto in the cellar, stabbing him multiple times and pushing him into the cistern where he had deposited Santi's body. Jacinto attempts to escape the pool, but is weighted down by the gold bars tied to his belt. Santi's ghost appears from the depths and drags Jacinto to his death. Having vanquished the enemy and escaped with their lives, the remaining boys leave the orphanage and begin the long walk to town. Dr. Casares's ghost watches them from the doorway. 

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After an environmental holocaust caused by solar flares nearly destroyed the Earth the atmosphere is ridden with solar radiation and global temperatures had risen greatly. This catastrophe left almost every human on earth dead, devastated the environment, and causes societal collapse. Crime rates have drastically increased, and the few human beings left have decided to fend for themselves and much of the world has seen the rise of gangs of rampaging marauders. In post-apocalyptic America, the once-stable society has become a corrupt, crime-ridden totalitarian wasteland. The few remaining citizens are either hiding in devastated urban areas or are controlled by various gangs that now rule the cities with an iron fist. A former cop, John Travis, is a martial arts expert and spends his days undercover, walking across the barren urban landscape. Travis is doing his best to maintain some kind of order as the gangs slowly weed each other out by fighting in large arenas to create the most powerful gang and thus control the country. 

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A plane to a research facility in Ecuador crashes in the ocean and the only survivors are three children: Semi Garson, the female narrator; Miranda, a brave girl; and a boy called Arnie. They must swim to the nearby island and survive on their own. Soon Arnie disappears and the girls are taken hostage on the island by Dr Franklin and his assistant Dr Skinner, who perform transgenic experiments on them. This transforms Miranda into a bird and Semi into a manta ray, who can still communicate through radio chips planted in their new bodies. It is revealed that the missing Arnie, also a prisoner of Dr. Franklin, is eavesdropping on them and reporting their conversations to the scientists. Arnie tells the two girls that there is a cure to their condition and says that he will try to help them by obtaining it. Semi soon begins to covertly receive the treatment, learning that Skinner is sneaking her the doses of antidote. Skinner frees her from the lockup, horrified by the experiments. Semi, now a full human again, finds a snake and discovers that it is Arnie. They are recaptured by Franklin, who also have Miranda trapped in a net. They attack in a desperate last stand, and the scientist is killed after smashing into an electric fence. Semi, Miranda and Arnie escape to the mainland in a boat. On the way home, Semi gives Miranda and Arnie the antidote, and they return to being human. They arrive in Ecuador, where they tell a cover story for their adventures (not mentioning Franklin's "treatment"), and are returned happily to their parents. The story ends with Semi's concerns that the transgenic DNA is still in their cells, and that they may have specific cues that will return them to being animals, and her dreams for a world that will allow her and Miranda to become the creatures they were on the island without barriers between them. 

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The story takes place in a near-future Britain where society has broken down due to an unspecified disaster, referred to as "The Crisis." The new society that emerges after the collapse retains many features of the old world but is fundamentally different. What serves as a government in the post-crisis nation is unable to consolidate its authority and exercises little control over the populace. Newscasts can be heard and law and order are upheld by vigilantes and a handful of policemen. Education exists for those who pass as the wealthier survivors, while schools for the poor act as an apparatus of the army and are designed to control the population. Limited commercial activity continues, but scavenging is required to obtain rare goods. By the start of the novel, the situation in the society is starting to deteriorate as the edifice of the past society crumbles. The narrator describes people moving out of the city, and empty shelves indicate a food shortage. Rationing is in effect, and gangs migrate through the city block by block attacking residents. Many of the narrator's neighbours want to move out of the city as the situation becomes worse. The narrator, a middle-aged woman who lives a quiet life in a flat, unexpectedly ends up with 'custody' of a teenage girl named Emily Cartwright and her dog Hugo. The narrator seeks to please the new arrival and works hard to ensure that Emily has a high opinion of her. She often comments on Emily's competence and neatness and ponders the purpose of the girl's existence. Emily herself is intelligent and insightful but is also quite distant. The narrator and Emily somewhat enjoy each other's company and seem to form a tacit arrangement of tolerance between them. This idyllic time (in the words of the narrator) ends when a gang of young people take up residence in the community. Emily goes out to meet them but retreats when they tease her and threaten Hugo. Later that evening she meets with the gang again, and this time enjoys herself. Upon returning home, she remarks to the narrator that the gang members are at least able to enjoy themselves. Many different gangs pass through the community in the next few months, and Emily always interacts with them. This, coupled with Emily's abrasive wit, creates friction between her and the narrator, though the latter weathers Emily's remarks and remains stoic. As Emily grows older, she exhibits more and more signs of adolescence. She designs her own clothes, gains then loses weight, and works ardently to become more attractive. As the story progresses, a group of similar minded young people from the community begin to form a gang of their own, modelled after the previous gangs that visited the community. Emily happily joins them in their nightly revelry. Soon it becomes apparent that the gang is going to depart from the community, and the narrator believes that Emily will leave with them. However, Emily is conflicted about leaving Hugo behind. She tries to introduce him to the gang, but no progress is made. The next day three of the gang members go to the flat where Emily and the narrator live with the intent to eat Hugo but are dissuaded by the presence of the Narrator. Emily learns of this occurrence and decides that, for the moment, she cannot leave her longtime companion behind. The gang soon splits into two groups, and Emily stays with the group that chooses not to depart. The story continues to progress as Emily grows older. Outside of the narrator's flat, society begins to revert to a pre-industrial state, with agriculture becoming more and more common in the city. A few blocks away, a young man named Gerald organizes dispossessed children into a new group and begins to establish a new gang. Emily becomes infatuated with Gerald, and it is implied that they form a physical relationship. Emily's influence in the community continues to grow, and she is soon seen as one of the leaders of the young people. One day the narrator returns home and finds items missing from her flat. Emily finds out about this thievery, and orders the thieves (who are some of the children that she leads) to return the stolen goods, displaying her authority over the children and her ability to protect the narrator, who up until this point had protected her. She then leads the narrator upstairs, where a thriving market has formed in the upper floors of the apartment building. Emboldened by his successes, Gerald continues to solidify his control over his group of followers. Emily often helps him, though friction is created between the two when Gerald seeks out other partners. Eventually, Gerald (who, according to the narrator, has too kind a heart) adopts feral children who had inhabited the sewers into his gang. However, the children are filthy and vicious, with their behaviour leading to the collapse of Gerald's formerly well-managed gang. The people of the community gather to discuss what should be done about the children when the police arrive and break up the meeting. Fearing that the eyes of the authorities (described as "them") have fallen upon the community, many of the narrator's neighbours flee in the following months. Months go by and society continues to collapse. The feral children are ostensibly under Gerald's control, but often run wild in what remains of the neighbourhood. Water is in short supply, caravans and traders are often attacked, and it is implied that even the government is starting to abandon parts of the city. Emily and the narrator spend most of their time in the flat and are able to interact with the children due to Emily's relationship with Gerald, but both fear an attack in the future, as the children are actively raiding and killing other humans at night. By this point, most of the residents of the neighbourhood have departed for the lands to the north and west of the city, lands from which there is forebodingly no news. Eventually, the children turn on Gerald and attack him, while he remains incredulous that such young children could betray him. Emily is able to save Gerald and hurry him into the flat. Faced with a bleak existence, the small group of Emily, Gerald, Hugo, and the Narrator fall asleep, expecting an attack from the children. The narrator awakes to find that the wall has opened before her and a new world lays on the other side. Emily leads the group through, whereupon they step into a new, better world as the walls dissolve away. Periodically, the narrator is able, through meditating on a certain wall (see above) in her flat, to traverse space and time. Many of these visions are about Emily's sad childhood under the care of her harsh mother and distant father. At the end of the novel, the main character's strange new family breaks through dimensional barriers via the wall and walks into a much better world. 

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The infant daughter of Dr. Jekyll / Jack the Ripper is witness to the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Fifteen years later, she is a troubled young woman who is seemingly possessed by the spirit of her late father. While in a psychotic trance she continues his murderous killing spree, but has no recollection of the events afterwards. A sympathetic psychiatrist takes her in and is convinced he can cure her condition. However, he soon regrets his decision... 

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Frank DeTorre is an unkempt and slovenly zookeeper at the Sucat Memorial Zoo in Rhode Island. Frank is also a widower. Depressed by the loss of his wife years earlier, he copes by eating unhealthy and not exercising, to the annoyance of his young daughter Shane. Inside his body, white blood cell Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones is a rebellious officer of the Frank Police Department, the city's center for immune responses against bodily threats. Ozzy was demoted to patrol duty in the mouth after an incident where he induced Frank to vomit against orders, resulting in Frank being fired from his previous job at a pea soup factory and banned from visiting Shane's school due to a restraining order filed by her P.E. and science teacher, Mrs. Boyd. Two years later, facing a serious challenge to his reelection prospects, Mayor Phlegmming doubles down on his junk food policies, ignoring their effect on Frank's health. This causes Frank to eat a boiled egg covered in filth, allowing Thrax, a deadly virus, to enter the throat. Unwilling to admit responsibility, Phlegmming instructs Frank to take a cold pill through brain signals. The pill, Drixenol "Drix" Koldreliff, proceeds to disinfect the throat, covering up any evidence of Thrax's arrival. To his displeasure, Ozzy is subsequently assigned to assist Drix in his investigation. Meanwhile, Thrax assumes leadership of a gang of sweat germs and launches an attack on the mucus dam in Frank's nose, nearly killing Drix before Ozzy rescues him. The two pay a visit to one of Ozzy's informants, who reveals Thrax's plan to pose as a mere cold virus as a cover for killing Frank with a high fever in order to become the next big virus in the medical records. Based on his information, Ozzy goes undercover at a nightclub intending to infiltrate Thrax's gang, only to be discovered and forced to call in Drix, who manages to destroy the club with a grenade. The explosion pops a zit on Frank's forehead during a meeting with Mrs. Boyd, ruining any chance for him to apologize. In response, Phlegmming closes the investigation, has Ozzy fired from the force, and orders Drix to leave the city. Having survived the assault, Thrax eliminates his remaining henchmen and launches a lone assault on the hypothalamus gland (the portion of the brain that controls body temperature), where he steals a DNA bead. He then abducts the Mayor's secretary, Leah Estrogen, and flees to the mouth to escape. His actions disable the body's ability to regulate temperature, causing the city to break out in flames and panic. As Frank is taken to the hospital in a fever coma, Ozzy and Drix reconcile and proceed to rescue Leah. They succeed, but Thrax is able to exit the mouth using pollen as a distraction. Ozzy pursues him to the surface of Shane's eye, and as they fight they both land on one of Shane's false eyelashes. As Thrax has Jones pinned down after Jones recovers the DNA bead, he gloats over how he will break his record by killing Shane as his next victim, but gets stuck in the false eyelash; Jones escapes at the last minute before the eyelash slides off and lands in a vessel of rubbing alcohol, where Thrax melts. As Frank's temperature goes over 108 degrees, his heart begins to shut down and flatline. Riding one of Shane's tears, Ozzy reenters his body with the bead in hand and replaces the missing chromosome, reviving Frank from his momentary state of death. Having narrowly cheated death, Frank commits himself to living a healthier lifestyle, and Ozzy and Drix are declared heroes, with Ozzy having been reinstated to the force with Drix as his new partner, at which point Ozzy also begins a relationship with Leah. Frank and Shane go hiking, as he attempts to live a healthier life. Phlegmming, meanwhile, is impeached from office due to his actions having nearly killed Frank and the City of Frank with him, resulting in his opponent Tom Colonic winning the election by a landslide and himself reduced to a custodian in the bowels, where he ejects himself accidentally by triggering Frank's flatulence. 

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The story proper begins when S. Jammu, an Indian woman who previously served as police commissioner of Bombay, takes over duties as the new St. Louis County chief of police. Her surprise appointment is greeted with confusion and suspicion, especially among the political and business elite that make up the county's advisory board, Municipal Growth. Over the coming months, a combination of a cult of personality, a Native American terrorist group, blackmail, and extortion bring most of the city leaders either to support Jammu, or under her thumb. Those not won over or suppressed include General Norris, a right-wing business owner, and Martin Probst, a local construction magnate. While Probst's initial misgivings are more to do with maintaining impartiality, his concerns are deepened by Norris's reports of Jammu's associates engaging in illegal activities, including surveillance of political opponents. A proposed merger between the city and county, part of a larger property speculation scheme hatched by Jammu and her cohorts, begins a clash between Jammu and Probst. Jammu acts as the figurehead for the merger whilst Probst reluctantly leads the opposition movement. Further pressure is brought to bear on Martin Probst in order to make him endorse Jammu and his family life begins to suffer. First, his 17-year-old daughter, Luisa, moves out of the family home to live with an older man called Duane Thompson. Then Martin's wife, Barbara, is seduced and ultimately kidnapped by Jammu's subordinate Balwan Singh, even as Martin is led to believe that Barbara has left him for another man. Despite the public politics and private intrigues, Martin Probst and S. Jammu find themselves drawn to each other and eventually sleep together. The merger fails, in large part due to voter apathy, and this major setback in her plans, combined with a chronic lack of sleep and deep depression, is enough to cause Jammu to commit suicide; meanwhile, tragic turns of events end in Barbara Probst being accidentally killed, Martin's family fractured forever due to hidden causes he cannot understand. 

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The novel describes the exploits of Hilda Fitzherbert, a 23-year-old former Undersecretary for Home Affairs, and then Imperial Prime Minister, in a future where the British Empire has achieved both female suffrage (which New Zealand granted in real life in 1893) and become an Imperial Federation, apart from an independent Ireland. However, Sir Reginald Paramatta, a villainous Australian republican, has his eyes set on the abduction and wooing of Miss Fitzherbert. Miss Fitzherbert foils the Republican plans and falls in love with Emperor Albert, the dashing young ruler of the Federated British Empire. Unfortunately, their plans hit a snag when the Emperor refuses the hand of the female US president's daughter, which precipitates an Anglo-American war, which the Empire wins, leading to the dissolution of the United States, its reabsorption into the Empire, and the ensuing marriage of Hilda and the Emperor. Several years later, the Emperor and his Empress find that their opinions about male primacy in royal succession have reversed themselves, when faced with a brilliantly competent princess and bookish, scholarly prince as prospective heirs apparent to the throne. 

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Clark (Tanya Dempsey), a young Mathematics major at a University, thinks she's found the best deal for student housing: a group of squatters who live in an abandoned hospital secretly. The quirky residents let her into their community provided she follow the rules, including not telling anyone about her living arrangements. All seems wonderful, until she discovers that the reason that the hospital was abandoned was a series of murders in the 1940s by a strange "shrieking killer" who was never captured - and the discovery that someone who's living in the hospital is using occult means to bring back the demonic "Shrieker". 

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Todd Belknap, a field agent for Consular Operations, is cut loose from the agency after a job gone wrong. But when his best friend and fellow agent is abducted abroad and the government refuses to step in, Belknap decides to take matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Andrea Bancroft learns she’s about to inherit 12 million dollars from a cousin she never met—with one condition: She must sit on the board of the Bancroft family foundation. Having been estranged from her father’s family for most of her life, Andrea is intrigued. But what exactly is the Bancroft’s involvement with “Genesis,” a mysterious person working to destabilize the geopolitical balance at the risk of millions of lives? In a series of devastating coincidences, Andrea and Belknap come together and must form an uneasy alliance if they are to uncover the truth behind “Genesis”—before it is too late. 

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The film opens with a series of unsuccessful assassination attempts by an unknown organisation with their target being Melvin Byrd (Sales). Byrd is a janitor in a NASA laboratory headed by Major General Smithburn (Andrews) with his security officer being an inept bungler, Lt. Porter (Hunter). Porter is captured and impersonated by an enemy double from the same organization attempting to kill Byrd. The head scientist Professor Waid (O'Connell) has employed Byrd due to his excellent janitorial skills as Waid blames American space program failures on dust that caused disasters. Byrd parodies the Ajax "stronger than dirt" white knight commercial when cleaning the base. Waid's secret project is developing an ionisation process initially to be tested on a chimpanzee (Judy the Chimp, from Daktari) that would make the subject capable of anti-gravity with a side effect that not only gives him the ability to fly, but makes him "the most attractive man" on Earth. When General Smithburn leads a Congressional delegation who are in Florida due to European junkets being cancelled, Byrd hides in the ionization machine, causing him to be ionized. In addition to losing the ability to stay on the ground for longer than brief periods, Byrd finds himself forced to fight off the attentions of a Congresswoman (Doris Dowling) and Waid's daughter Claudine (Adams) as well as the assassins. 

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Alexandra Medford (Cher), Jane Spofford (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer) are three dissatisfied women living in the picturesque town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. Alex is a sculptor and single mother of one daughter; Jane is a newly divorced music teacher unable to have children; while Sukie has six daughters and works as a columnist for the Eastwick Word, the local newspaper. The three friends have all lost their husbands (Alex's died, Jane's divorced her, and Sukie's abandoned her). Unaware that they are witches, the women unwittingly form a coven where they have weekly get-togethers and share their fantasies about ideal men. A mysterious man (Jack Nicholson) arrives in town and stirs up trouble by buying the town's landmark property: the Lenox Mansion. The arrival of this enigmatic stranger fascinates the townsfolk, all except for Felicia Alden (Veronica Cartwright), the devoutly religious wife of newspaper editor Clyde Alden (Richard Jenkins), Sukie's boss. Felicia senses that this man (whose name is easily forgotten) is up to no good. One night, at one of Jane's music recitals, the strange man appears and makes a spectacle of himself which leads to more gossip. After the recital, Jane receives a bouquet of flowers with the initial D written on it. This sparks Sukie's memory, finally revealing the man's name as Daryl Van Horne. However, as chaos over the name spreads through the crowd, Sukie's bead necklace inexplicably breaks and falls to the floor, causing Felicia (who had mocked Daryl's name) to trip down a large staircase and break her leg. The following day, Daryl sets out to seduce Alex. As he converses with her, he says insensitive, disgusting, and rude things every time he speaks. Appalled, she tells him off, refuses his amorous advances, and begins to walk out. Before she opens the door, he speaks to her, manipulating her emotions until she eventually agrees. The next morning, Daryl visits the shy and insecure Jane. As the two sit down and share polite conversation, Jane explains that the Lenox Mansion was built on a site where alleged witches were burned at the stake. Later that night, Daryl encourages Jane to play her cello with wild abandon, never before achieved, playing faster and faster while accompanied by Daryl on the piano, until finally the strings emit smoke, the cello catches fire, and Jane flings herself upon Daryl with passion. The following week, Daryl invites all three of the women to his mansion, his sights now on Sukie. Later, as envy and rivalry emerge among the women, they inadvertently levitate a tennis ball. Finally aware of their magical abilities, the women agree to share Daryl. As the women spend more time at Daryl's mansion, Felicia spreads rumors about their indecency. Alex, Jane, and Sukie become social outcasts. As the witches begin to question their loyalty to Daryl, he causes them to unknowingly cast a spell against Felicia. Later that night, while ranting to her husband about Daryl being the Devil, Felicia begins to vomit cherry pits. Horrified by her uncontrollable behavior, Clyde kills her with a fire poker. After Felicia's death, the three women become fearful of their powers and agree to avoid each other and Daryl until the situation has quietened down. Upset by this abandonment, Daryl uses his own powers to bring their worst fears to life. Alex awakens to a bed full of snakes; Jane's body begins rapidly aging; and Sukie experiences sudden, agonizing pain. Realizing the only way to get rid of Daryl is by using witchcraft against him, the women reunite with him, pretending to have made amends. The next morning, Daryl sets out to buy bagels and ice cream, as per the request of the three women. While he is out of the mansion, Alex uses candle wax and Daryl's hair to create a voodoo doll in his image and the three women begin to harm the doll, hoping that Daryl will leave as a result. As the spell takes effect, Daryl - still in town - is buffeted by a sudden wind and begins to feel excruciating pain (each event corresponding to something the doll undergoes). He runs inside a church to hide from the wind and finds it full of people praying. Realizing the source of his troubles, he begins ranting about the women, cursing them as a group before vomiting cherry pits like Felicia did. An enraged Daryl then races home to punish the witches for their betrayal. Realizing their plot to make Daryl leave was ineffective, they attempt to hide their spell and toss the voodoo doll into a fire just as he enters the mansion. Daryl vanishes as a result but not before reverting to a large, monstrous form that attempts to shake the mansion apart. Eighteen months later, the women are living together in Daryl's mansion, each with a new baby son (each boy shares his mother's hair color). The boys are playing together when Daryl appears on a wall filled with video screens and invites them to "give Daddy a kiss". Before they can do so, Alex, Jane and Sukie appear and switch off the televisions. 

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Just released from jail, Blues singer Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton is asked to sign a record deal after a song he recorded months before becomes an unexpected hit. After a year of trials and tribulations, Floyd is ready to right the past year's wrongs and return to Chicago with a new understanding of what's important in his life. Unfortunately his means of righting wrongs are inherently flawed. The play's recurring theme is the African-American male's fight for his own humanity, self-understanding and self-acceptance in the face of personal and societal ills. The rooster is a recurring symbol of black manhood throughout the play, and provides a violent and shocking foreshadowing effect when Hedley delivers a fiery monologue and ritualistically slaughters one in front of the other characters. 

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Setting: the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick ;Act I A little girl sings the praises of her little town of Eastwick, Rhode Island, which she creates using her imagination, as well as its inhabitants who describe Eastwick as a town where everyone looks through their curtains at everyone else and where gossip is more powerful than the truth ("Eastwick Knows"). A forced parade led by and honouring self-appointed First Lady of Eastwick, Felicia Gabriel, overtakes proceedings but as she is about to receive her prize an unexpected thunderstorm forces everyone to run home. Alexandra (Alex), Jane and Sukie, the three Witches, have retreated to Alex's living room for peanut butter brownies, martinis and begin to complain. They talk about their boredom with their current relationships which include casual sex, abstinence and Sukie's affair with Felicia's husband, Clyde. Alex's son, Michael, enters with his girlfriend, Jennifer, who also happens to be Felicia's daughter. The teenagers are disgustingly in love with each other and the Witches, seeing how happy they are, sing about the kind of man they would like in their lives ("Make Him Mine"). In Felicia's kitchen, Felicia and Clyde show how truly unhappy they are and how Felicia is determined to keep her public face on their relationship. The phone rings; a man from New York has arrived and bought the deserted Lenox Mansion and is tearing down the trees in his backyard. Felicia, being the considerate soul she is, thinks of the snowy egrets that will lose their homes and decides to rally the town to stop him. Arriving at Lenox Mansion, Darryl Van Horne emerges from a puff of smoke and begins to charm all the residents except Felicia ("I Love A Little Town"). The "Eastwick Preservation Society" banner explodes in a fireball and everyone flees. Darryl meets Alexandra on the beach where she is sculpting in the sand. Embarrassed, she allows Darryl to take her back to his house. They discuss sculpture and Darryl begins his seduction ("Eye of the Beholder"). Gossip begins to work its way round the town and Darryl goes to Jane's studio where she is playing the cello. They discuss music and have a wild and sexual cello/violin duet which ends in the cello playing by itself and a massive musical and actual orgasm ("Waiting For The Music To Begin"). Clyde promises Sukie that he will leave Felicia but she enters with Jennifer and catches the two of them. Their excuse is that they're preparing research on Darryl and Lenox Mansion. When Sukie returns home Darryl is waiting for her. Darryl gets Sukie to break out of her introverted shell and talk to him ("Words, Words, Words"). Instead of sleeping with her, he invites her to a tennis game. It's only when Sukie arrives and sees Alex and Jane that all three realise that Darryl has been sleeping with all of them. He serves a ball which explodes in mid-air and says that he's the man they prayed for. Michael and Jennifer meet and sing their puppy-love duet ("Something") while the rest of the town meet to do laundry and gossip about Darryl and his conquests ("Dirty Laundry"). During the number, Felicia, to her horror, discovers Jennifer kissing Michael and immediately sends her away from Eastwick. Alex, Jane and Sukie enter, each wearing a stunning sexy dress singing about their childhood insecurities ("I Wish I May"). Darryl sweet talks the women and teaches them how to curse Felicia by throwing things into an enchanted cookie jar. They throw a tennis ball, a bracelet and some feathers into the jar and immediately, Felicia starts to throw up...a tennis ball, a bracelet and some feathers. Enchanted, the Witches turn to Darryl who tells them to close their eyes and suddenly they are flying high above the audience. ;Act II Darryl invites Alex to Mexican Night at his house and she reflects on her single-minded pursuit ("Another Night At Darryl’s"). At Nemo's Diner, Darryl bumps into Felicia and Clyde. He taunts her and she vomits a cherry pit. Seeing that Eastwick's men have no idea how to please their women Darryl teaches the town about how to have real sex ("Dance With The Devil"). The Witches go to Darryl's in coats and take them off to reveal matching lingerie. Just as they are about to have sex, Darryl's manservant, Fidel, delivers a letter from The Eastwick Preservation Society that says they are suing him for filling in the wetlands. In revenge, all four start throwing anything they can find into the cookie jar. In Felicia's kitchen, we see the result as she screams at the still bewitched Clyde ("Evil"). Eventually, she can no longer cope with the curse and tells Clyde to do something so he hits her with a frying pan. Suddenly free of Felicia he shouts that he's finally happy. However, with her dying breath, Felicia pulls Clyde's tie into the waste disposal unit and turns it on. The Witches start to avoid Darryl. When they return to Lenox Mansion, they tell Darryl that he has taken it too far. Furious, he screams at them but they run away and Darryl swears revenge. On the beach, Sukie bumps into the now orphaned Jennifer. She tries to offer advice but can't find the words ("Loose Ends"). Darryl enters once Sukie leaves and begins to seduce Jennifer. He tricks her into marrying him and this news prompts the Witches to send Darryl back where he belongs. Before the wedding Darryl leads the town in singing the praises of himself ("The Glory of Me"). The wedding begins but the Witches appear and, using a voodoo doll of Darryl they begin attacking him ("The Wedding"). Vowing revenge, Darryl is thrown back to Hell in a fireball and the church collapses. Michael and Jennifer are reunited ("Something" Reprise) and the Witches realise the error of their ways ("Look At Me"). 

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The movie opens with the assassination of a man of unknown identity. A team of three CIA officers, including Jack Chen (Daniel Wu), a rookie, watch through surveillance as a sexy female assassin named Fiona Birch (Marit Thoresen) enters the man's heavily guarded apartment suite and, after having sex with him, kills him by breaking his spine with her bare hands. As she makes her escape, Fiona's car is hit by a rocket. As the CIA officers rush over to extricate her from the wreckage, they are shot and killed by a woman in a limousine, leaving Jack as the only survivor. The woman in the limousine is revealed to be Madam M (Almen Wong), the leader of a mysterious assassin organization, to which the killed assassin belonged. After the incident, young girls across the globe start disappearing one after another. The only relationship among them is that they are all trained in martial arts or sports. As Jack correctly theorizes, these girls have been abducted by Madam M and transported to an island to be trained to become professional assassins. After six years of gruesome training, only Charlene Ching (Maggie Q), Katt (Anya Wu) and Jing (Jewel Lee) survive and "graduate". The last test in order for them to graduate was a fight for survival/to the death test. Katt and Charlene, being friends, could not kill each other, and so each is accepted as a survivor. To celebrate, Madam M gives them all different wines which have drugs in them. As the drugs take effect Madam M calls her guards to brutally rape the girls, thus (in Madam M's words) making them ready for what was to come. The three girls are then sent on several missions around the world. During one of her missions in Hong Kong, Charlene coincidentally runs into her long-lost mother, Faye Ching (Cheng Pei-pei). Jack, who has been following Madam M's case for the last six years, tracks Charlene down, but Charlene manages to knock him out and escape. Believing that Charlene would return to seek her mother, Jack waits outside Faye's house. However, Jing shows up first and stabs Faye. Jack tries to fend her off but he is no match for her. Charlene shows up and kills Jing after a fierce fight. She and Jack then escort the wounded Faye to the hospital. In order to regain their freedom, Charlene and Katt accept a final mission from Madam M. A yakuza boss, Ryuichi (Andrew Lin), has contracted Madam M to eliminate a traitor in his gang. The mission turns out to be Ryuichi's trap to avenge his partner, who was assassinated previously by one of Madam M's girls (Charlene). Ryuichi kills Madam M and captures Katt, while Charlene escapes. While Jack is at the hospital, Charlene calls him to meet her at the beach. They end up making love, and the next morning she leaves a note in his shoe saying if they are destined, then they will meet again. When Charlene returns the next day to rescue Katt, she watches helplessly through a bullet-proof glass as Katt, after being tortured, is killed by Ryuichi with a sword. The enraged Charlene battles Ryuichi in an intense fight, and finally manages to kill him using the technique used by Fiona Birch. Jack and Faye are at a Chinese temple offering prayers. Faye jokingly says that these things (the gods that she has been praying to) must have been all nonsense in Jack's point of view. But Jack tells her that although he never had a religion, he feels peace every time he is in the temple. Faye commends his behavior and says that he should visit the temple more often. Meanwhile, Charlene is in a different temple praying for Katt's soul to rest in peace, and she tells the deity that she wishes to be with the one she truly loves, Jack. Jack claims at the end of the movie that there are times when he is sure that Charlene is beside him; the last scene of the movie is Charlene watching Jack rush through the crowd looking for her. 

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The Helios 7 space probe is sent on a mission to study the planet Jupiter. While on its outward journey to the gas giant, the probe is overtaken by the Space Amoeba, an amorphous parasitic extraterrestrial. The probe returns to Earth and crashes into the South Pacific, where the Amoeba leaves the device and inhabits the body of a cuttlefish, causing it to mutate into what is called "Gezora". The tentacled kaiju begins attacking ships and islands in the area. A photographer named Kudo and his entourage land on Selgio Island for a photoshoot, but their camp is attacked by Gezora. Because of its mutation, the creature can create extremely cold temperatures with its body. When the survivors discover that Gezora is vulnerable to high temperatures, Kudo and his friends use a leftover Japanese World War II munitions bunker to set fire to the monster. Severely burned, the creature retreats to the water, where it dies. Later, the Space Amoeba possesses a stone crab, mutating it into "Ganimes" and attacks the surrounding islands. Luckily the humans manage to lure Ganimes into a pit and destroy it with explosives. The Amoeba survives a second time and flees into the surrounding jungles, plotting its revenge. The Space Amoeba decides to control two Earth creatures this time: another Ganimes and a mata mata named "Kamoebas". The two monsters raid the human camp. Luckily Kudo realizes the two monsters' weakness: supersonic waves. By releasing a storm of bats, the Amoeba loses control of its creations. Ganimes and Kamoebas, no longer under control, go berserk and begin to battle between them. The humans, using more explosives, cause the volcano to erupt, engulfing the Space Amoeba and the two monsters. 

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The Joy Luck Club was formed by four women in San Francisco: Lindo Jong (Tsai Chin), Ying-Ying St. Clair (France Nuyen), An-Mei Hsu (Lisa Lu), and Suyuan Woo (Kieu Chinh). The members have mainly played mahjong and told each other's stories over the years. They emigrated from their native country, China, remarried, and gave birth to children in America. Suyuan's daughter June (Ming-Na Wen) replaced her when Suyuan died four months before the time the film is set. The mothers have high hopes for their daughters' successes, but the daughters struggle through "anxieties, feelings of inadequacy, and failures." Throughout the film, the mothers and daughters bond by learning to understand each other and by overcoming their conflicts. The film begins with June's prologue tale. In the prologue, a woman (presumably Suyuan) bought a swan in China from a market vendor who was selling it as "a duck that stretched its neck [to become] a goose." She kept it as her pet and brought it to the United States. When the immigration officials took it away from her, she plucked out only a swan feather instead while she struggled to grab the swan away. For a long time, the woman had kept the feather, planning to give it to her daughter someday. Then the film transitions to June's farewell surprise party in San Francisco for her upcoming reunion with her long-lost twin sisters in China. Among the guests are members of The Joy Luck Club, their daughters, other relatives, and friends. The following characters below narrate their journeys to the audience while they reflect upon their pasts. 

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The book traces the journey of an English eats the war and comes across two young girls in the French countryside town Wissant, Marcelle and Coco. The girls help the soldier, who suffers psychological blindness as an effect of post-traumatic stress, to plan a way to cross the English Channel back to his brother. The girls bring him food and, in turn, he tells them moralistic tales about courage, perseverance trying your best at all odds. Though his stories are fiction, one is not; the story of his younger brother John who, while being extremely ill, finds a small silver donkey whilst digging in the garden. The soldier carries the silver donkey with him everywhere for luck, hope and inspiration, which along with hope and luck, spread to Coco when the soldier gives her the donkey. The soldier told them. The story can be seen in two ways: from an adult's perspective or from that of a child's innocence. The soldier's tales maybe lies in order to get the girls to help him, or he could be telling the truth. 

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The setting is "Damibia" set in "Africa. To be precise, Central Africa" (p. 21). There, the President-General of the country has just announced that "all the East Indians in the country have to leave by the next moon". The book focuses on "The General", the Damibia Institute, guerilla attacks, portrayals of inter-racial equations in post-colonial East Africa, playing the game of tombola, a students' demo, a party, David's departure from Africa, the sad farewell at the airport, and more. 

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Yuki's earliest memory is of a stormy night in winter, where she was attacked by a rogue vampire and rescued by Kaname Kuran, a Pureblood vampire. Now ten years later, Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, Kaien Cross, has grown up and become a guardian of the vampire race, protecting her childhood crush, Kaname, from discovery as he leads a group of vampires at the elite boarding school. At her side is Zero Kiryu, a childhood friend whose hatred for the creatures that destroyed everything he held dear leaves him determined never to trust them. This coexisting arrangement seems all well and good, but have the vampires truly renounced their murderous ways, or is there a darker truth behind their actions? In this world of secrets, nothing is as it seems. The price of misplaced trust may even be worse than death. Should Yuki truly find out what was in her past, is the truth going to hurt her worse than not knowing? 

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Frank and Jerry Lee Flannigan are two down-and-out brothers who live a meager existence in Reno, Nevada. Both men are high school dropouts who live in cheap motel rooms, work at odd jobs for money, and drink heavily. One night, while driving drunk during a blizzard, Jerry Lee accidentally hits and kills a teenage boy on a bicycle. Although the accident is the boy's fault, there are no witnesses, and Jerry Lee is certain that the police will put the blame on him. He convinces Frank to leave town with him and flee to Montana. Along the way, Jerry Lee abandons Frank in Wyoming and then burns the car in a secluded Idaho forest. Both men return separately to Reno. The police seem to take no interest in the case, so both men attempt to settle back into their Reno lives. Frank adopts an abused, half-frozen dog he finds during a snowstorm. Acting on a tip from a friend, he scrapes together $400 and bets it on the Tyson-Douglas boxing match, winning more than $5,000. He also tracks down the family of the dead teenager and stands outside their home, watching them come and go. Jerry Lee, meanwhile, becomes consumed by guilt and attempts suicide, shooting himself in the leg. He survives and lands in the hospital. On the day of the Tyson-Douglas fight, the police come to question Jerry Lee; they have discovered the burned-out wreck of his car in Idaho. Once again, Jerry Lee convinces Frank to flee Reno. Frank uses his winnings to buy a used car. He leaves $1,000 at the home of the dead teenager, sneaks Jerry Lee out of the hospital, and heads to the town of Elko, Nevada, to hide from the police. Frank's ex-girlfriend Annie lives in Elko, and he secretly hopes to run into her. But Jerry Lee's wounds are far from healed and he quickly becomes very sick. 

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Present Day (2001): Dito is a successful writer in Los Angeles. One day, after being urged by his mother, Flori, and his friend, Nerf, Dito visits his childhood home, Astoria, New York, because his father has suddenly become very ill. The film switches back and forth between the present and flashbacks with Dito's memories in the summer of 1986. Dito meets Nerf, and talks with him in a parked car, where they can talk undisturbed, which would not have been possible at Nerf's house. Dito then visits Laurie, his childhood sweetheart, who is now a mother. They only talk through the open window; she does not let him in. Dito finally visits his father, Monty. Monty used to ignore Dito's feelings, and he didn't want Dito to travel. He is angry at Dito for leaving, and for not returning sooner to visit; he then sends Dito away. Laurie urges him to be a man and come to terms with his father, who was heartbroken when he left. Dito does leave, but returns later, to insist that he take his father to the hospital. 1986: Antonio, an overconfident, volatile boy with an abusive father, eventually kills someone: the Puerto Rican gangmember Reaper, as payback for an attack on young Dito. Viewers are then introduced to Antonio's younger brother, Giuseppe - reckless, destructive, and possibly insane. Giuseppe lay on a subway track; in spite of urgent warnings from his brother Antonio and Nerf, that a train was coming, he failed to get back on the platform and was killed Mike O'Shea, another friend of Dito's, was a Scottish boy who dreamt of becoming a musician. Mike and Dito had planned to go to California on a bus. They worked for a gay drug addict, Frank, with a dog-walking business. They went to his house to collect the wages he was slow in paying. At first he did not listen to them, but then he gave them all the money he kept in the refrigerator, more than he owed them and told them to leave town. Shortly thereafter, Mike was murdered by a member of a Puerto Rican gang in retaliation for the murder of Reaper, after which Dito travelled alone to California. Present Day: Dito visits the adult Antonio in prison and sees him as a changed man of wisdom. The film concludes with the two of them sitting down in conversation. 

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The story begins with Shef as little more than a thrall in his stepfather's service. When he is not busy with mundane tasks, Shef finds himself aiding the village blacksmith, where he develops his talents as well as an affinity for invention. A Viking army invades, and Shef's stepsister Godive is taken during a raid on their village. Shef and his friend Hund proceed to the encampment of the Ragnarssons, leaders of the invading army. Rising swiftly in and beyond the Viking army, Shef's greatest task becomes defeating a new invasion. 

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In the cartoons that star Crazylegs Crane (voiced by Larry D. Mann), he always goes through various misadventures (often accompanied by his son Crazylegs Crane Jr. (voiced by Frank Welker)) and often deals with his frenemy, a fire-breathing dragonfly (voiced by Frank Welker impersonating Andy Kaufman). None of the shorts contained any credit information; only the series title and episode title were shown. 

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The Vigilante, a masked government agent, is assigned to investigate the case of the "100 Tears of Blood", a cursed string of rare blood-red pearls sought by a gang led by the unknown X-1 that may have been smuggled into the country. Greg Sanders (Sanders at that time, later changed to Saunders in the comics), in his civilian guise as an actor, is filming a western on George Pierce's ranch. Pierce is a wealthy rancher and nightclub owner. When Prince Hamil arrives at the ranch, he gives a horse each to Saunders, Pierce, Captain Reilly, Tex Collier and Betty Winslow. But an outlaw gang soon attacks, attempting to steal all five horses. It turns out that each horse has twenty of the pearls hidden in their shoes (five in each) in secret compartments. Edging closer, Sanders learns that Prince Hamil's servant stole the diamonds from his master and smuggled them in on the horses with the intention of passing them on to X-1. 

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Slim is a boy whose astronomer father is visiting the country estate of an important industrialist. The industrialist's son, Red, has found two strange animals, and he enlists Slim in a plan to turn the animals into a circus act. The astronomer, meanwhile, tells the industrialist that he has been in contact with space aliens who want to open up their world to interstellar trade. Their world needs help, the astronomer says; for ever since the atomic wars that destroyed their old civilization, their world has been regressing. Unless something is done, their culture may face total collapse. When they do not hear from the aliens, the astronomer and the industrialist go out looking for them. They find a small crashed spaceship with a number of tiny dead aliens in it, and the astronomer is convinced that the aliens all died in the crash. When he hears Red admit to the industrialist that he has been keeping two animals in a cage in a barn, he realizes that the "animals" are actually two surviving aliens. When the industrialist learns that the aliens allowed themselves to be captured and caged rather than harm the two youngsters, he is favorably impressed and agrees to help the aliens begin trading with his people. The two aliens succeed in repairing their spaceship and set out for their world: Earth. Necessary for the narrative twist at the end, none of the characters in Youth have proper given names, and identifiable physical descriptions only appear toward the conclusion. All the adults, including the two aliens, are known by their professions, and the two youngsters are known by their nicknames. 

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Amelia and Emerson are in Cairo to greet the 20th century, when a mysterious Mr. Shelmadine presents them with a gold ring from an unknown tomb bearing the cartouche of Queen Tetisheri. The Emersons must defend against criminals and tomb robbers. This time, Amelia is up against two unknown parties, one to save, one to avenge. This book also introduces David Todros, Ramses's lifelong friend and partner in adventures. Evelyn and Walter Emerson come back to the land of the pharaohs for the first time since their romance in the ruins of the heretical pharaoh's city, Amarna. 

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Frank X. Farrell (Joe E. Brown) is an ace baseball player whose insistence on making excuses earns him the nickname "Alibi Ike." In the course of his first season with the Chicago Cubs, Farrell falls in love with Dolly Stevens (Olivia De Havilland), sister-in-law of the team's manager. Farrell's "alibi" habit prompts Dolly to walk out on him, after which he goes into a slump - which coincides with attempts by gamblers to get Farrell to throw the World Series. 

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In the present, adult siblings Michael and Carolyn Johnson arrive at their recently deceased mother's Iowa farmhouse to settle her estate. While sorting through Francesca's will and safe deposit box, they are shocked by their mother's specific request to be cremated and her ashes scattered from the nearby Roseman Bridge, superseding previous arrangements for burial next to her late husband, Richard. Michael initially refuses to comply until Carolyn discovers unseen photos of her mother taken at the Holliwell Bridge and letters to Francesca from a man named Robert Kincaid. Francesca's note, along with a key, lead her children to a locked hope chest containing three notebooks, a National Geographic magazine featuring Madison County's covered wood bridges, old cameras, and other mementos. A photo of Kincaid is in the magazine. In 1965, Francesca, a WWII Italian war bride, met Robert Kincaid, a National Geographic photojournalist who was on assignment to photograph the county's historic bridges. Robert, looking for the Roseman Bridge, stopped by the Johnson farm to ask for directions. Francesca then rode along to show him the way. Their subsequent affair occurred over the four days that Francesca's husband and children were away at the Illinois State Fair. Francesca's three notebooks detail the affair and its lasting impact on both her and Robert, who fell deeply in love and nearly ran away together. After wrenching soul- searching, Francesca, trapped in a passionless marriage, was unable to abandon her teenage children and loyal husband, knowing the irreparable pain it would cause and the realization that what she and Robert shared was unlikely to survive, given their circumstances. Robert, forever affected by their brief encounter, found renewed meaning in his life and a true calling as an artist. Francesca's memories helped sustain her through her remaining years on the farm. Years later, Francesca attempted to contact Robert after her husband's death, but he had since left National Geographic and his whereabouts were unknown. Francesca learned that Robert died about three years after her husband and left her his belongings. His ashes were scattered from Roseman Bridge. Michael and Carolyn, both experiencing marital problems, are deeply moved by their mother's story and find new direction to their individual lives. The Johnson siblings respect their mother's wishes and scatter her ashes at the covered bridge. 

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The plot revolves around a case of mistaken identity between a pair of identical brothers. In the afterword, Jin Yong acknowledges that the story resembles some of the works of William Shakespeare (cf. Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors).Afterword The protagonist, who refers to himself as "Gouzazhong" (狗雜種; literally "mongrel dog", a colloquialism for "bastard"), first appears as a young beggar roaming the streets of Kaifeng in search of his lost mother. He witnesses a fight between several jianghu figuresChapter 1 and meets the Shi couple and members of the Snowy Mountain Sect (雪山派). An accident causes him to be taken away by Xie Yanke, an eccentric martial artist, to his secluded home on Motian Cliff. Xie Yanke, who is frequently bothered by Gouzazhong, decides to teach him martial arts. Gouzazhong learns qi cultivation techniques under Xie Yanke's tutelage for six years, but is unaware that Xie actually harbours ill intentions and has been teaching him the wrong methods, in the hope that he will sustain internal wounds and eventually die.Chapter 3 At the same time, the leader of the Changle Sect, Shi Zhongyu, mysteriously disappears.Chapter 15 The greater part of the novel deals with the complications that arise as Gouzhazhong is mistaken for Shi Zhongyu, not only by members of the sect (for ulterior motives), by also by Shi Zhongyu's parents, the Shi couple, Shi Zhongyu's lover Ding Dang, and members of the Snowy Mountain Sect. Although the two bear a splitting resemblance, their characters cannot be more different: Gouzhazhong is simple, honest and clever, while Shi Zhongyu, the son of the Shi couple, has a bad reputation for being a lewd and sly womaniser. Gouzhazhong acquires consummate combat skills in the process. He is hounded by members of the Snowy Mountain Sect who mistake him for Shi Zhongyu, who molested Axiu, the granddaughter of the Snowy Mountain Sect's leader. He acquires Axiu as his girlfriend after various incidents, during which the misunderstandings are gradually resolved. The novel culminates in an episode when the leaders of various sects are coerced into visiting a secluded island by a pair of mysterious, highly skilled messengers to celebrate the Laba Festival. The story then leads to a surprising conclusion: revelations on the island and more revelations concerning Gouzhazhong's true parentage. 

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Late at night in early 1900s England, wealthy and elderly Ella Venable (Catherine Lacey) is murdered in her manor house by Andrew the butler (Andrew Crawford), and her body is buried on the grounds of the estate by Andrew in collusion with Ella's husband, Walter Venable (André Morell), and Clara the maid (Freda Jackson). Tabitha, Ella's tabby cat, is the only witness to the murder and burial, and instinctively understands that its mistress’s death was a crime. The murderers realize the cat's comprehension and resolve to kill it. Before he had her killed, Walter forced Ella to sign a will that left everything to him. However, her original will — which left Walter nothing — remains hidden in the attic. Walter needs to find and destroy this original to ensure his inheritance. Inspector Rowles (Alan Wheatley) and newspaper man Michael Latimer (Conrad Phillips) are called to the house to investigate what Walter maintains is Ella's "disappearance." Walter invites Ella's favorite niece, Elizabeth "Beth" Venable (Barbara Shelley), to stay at the house. He worries that she might question the illegitimate will and wants to "deal with her" in person. Beth and Michael are old friends from when she used to live with her Aunt Ella, and as the story progresses they become increasingly close. While searching for the will, Walter has an accident in the structurally unsound attic, followed by an encounter with Tabitha which causes him to have a heart attack. Bedridden and unable to continue the search for the will, he invites his criminal nephew, Jacob Venable (William Lucas); Jacob's father, Edgar Venable (Richard Warner); and Jacob's wife, Louise Venable (Vanda Godsell), to the house. He promises them a share of Ella's money if they find her original will and kill Tabitha. The cat witnesses their conspiracy. There are several unsuccessful attempts to capture and kill Tabitha. One such attempt results in Andrew and Clara's deaths by cat-related accidents. Based on Tabitha's behavior and other clues, Beth, Michael and Inspector Rowles correctly suspect Ella's murder but have no firm supporting evidence. Jacob continues to search the attic for Ella's will but, fearing "too much depends on Walter," turns on his uncle. He lets Tabitha into Walter's bedroom. When Walter sees the cat, he has a second, fatal heart attack. His will leaves everything to Edgar. Beth, Michael and Inspector Rowles accuse the remaining villains of conspiracy but without the original will they have no proof. Edgar, now owner of the manor, orders them out of the house. As they're leaving, Jacob sees Tabitha and pursues the cat onto the roof with everyone watching. Edgar uses the distraction to go to the attic and continue searching for the will. Jacob slips on the roof and falls to his death. Edgar finds the original will hidden in the attic wall behind a painting of Tabitha. Then the cat itself appears and Edgar tries frantically to kill it. His efforts wreck the attic and he is struck and killed by a falling beam. Tabitha leads the police to Ella's body. The original will leaves everything to Beth but she tells Michael that she never wants to see the house again and asks him to take her away. The house is sold and Tabitha watches from the courtyard as a new family — husband, wife, daughter and grandfather — move in. The grandfather complains that he'll probably die of boredom living there, while the husband and wife talk of convincing the old man to change his will. 

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The prologue is narrated by a man telling of his visit from a psychic woman, who gives him a manuscript she claims was dictated to her by his deceased brother Chris. Most of the novel consists of this manuscript. Chris, a middle-aged man, is injured in an auto accident and dies in the hospital. He remains as a ghost, at first thinking he's having a bad dream. Amid a failed séance that ends up reinforcing his wife's belief that he didn't survive death, an unidentified man keeps approaching Chris, telling him to concentrate on what's beyond. Chris disregards this advice for a long time, unable to leave his wife Ann. After following the man's advice, and focusing on pleasant memories, he feels himself being elevated. He awakens in a beautiful glade, which he recognizes as a place where he and Ann traveled. Understanding now that he has died, he is surprised that he looks and feels alive, with apparently a physical body and sensations. After exploring the place for a while, he finds Albert, his cousin, who reveals himself as the unidentified man he had been seeing. Albert explains that the place they occupy is called Summerland. Being a state of mind rather than a physical location, Summerland is practically endless and takes the form of the inhabitants' wishes and desires. There is no pain or death, but people maintain occupations of sorts and perform leisure activities. The book depicts Summerland at length, through Chris's eyes. Chris feels somehow uneasy, haunted by nightmares ending in Ann's death. Soon he learns that Ann has killed herself. Albert, who is as shocked as Chris, explains that by committing suicide Ann has placed her spirit in the "lower realm" from Summerland, and that she will stay there for twenty-four years — her intended life span. Albert insists that Ann's condition is not "punishment" but "law" - a natural consequence of committing suicide. Since Albert's job is to visit the lower realm, Chris asks to be taken there to help Ann. Albert initially refuses, warning Chris that he might find himself stuck in the lower realm, thus delaying his eventual, inevitable reunion with Ann. Chris eventually convinces Albert to attempt the rescue, though Albert insists that they will almost certainly fail. The lower realm (which the book later refers to as "Hell") is cold, dark, and barren. Albert and Chris are able to use their minds to make their surroundings slightly more bearable, but Albert warns Chris that this will be harder to do the further they travel. They eventually reach a place occupied by people who were violent criminals while alive. Chris witnesses a series of dreadful sights and is gruesomely attacked by a mob, though he soon discovers that the attack occurred only in his mind. They finally depart from that violent section of Hell, arriving at last at Ann's place. It resembles a dark, depressing version of the neighborhood where he and Ann lived. Albert explains that she will not immediately recognize Chris, and that he might gradually convince her who he is and what has happened to her. Ann believes that she is living alone in her house where nothing seems to work, grieving her husband's death. This is her private "Hell" - an exaggerated version of what she had been experiencing prior to her suicide. Identifying himself as a new neighbor, Chris makes numerous unsuccessful attempts to help her realize the true situation. He describes details of his life so that she will be reminded of her husband. He calls her attention to the improbably negative conditions of the house. He drops clues, gradually leading her to the truth, but she seems to block out anything that will cause recognition. He finally tells the truth straight out. She gets angry and calls him a liar. Because she does not believe in an afterlife, she finds it impossible that he could be her dead husband. After a moment of disorientation where he starts to forget his own identity, the atmosphere of Hell gradually drawing him in and threatening to trap him there, he delivers a monologue of appreciation for her, detailing the ways in which she enriched his life. He then makes the most dreaded decision of all: he will stay with her and not return to Summerland. As he begins losing consciousness, Ann recognizes him and realizes what has happened. Chris awakens in Summerland again. Albert, who is amazed that Chris was able to rescue Ann, informs him that she has been reborn on Earth, because she is not ready for Summerland. Chris wants to be reborn too, despite Albert's protests. Chris learns that he and Ann have had several past lives, and in all of them they had a special connection with each other. As the manuscript comes to a close, Chris explains that he is soon going to be reborn and will forget all that has happened. He ends with a message of hope, telling his readers that death is not to be feared, and that he knows that in the future he and Ann will ultimately be reunited in Heaven, even if in a different form. 

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At the end of A Feast Unknown, Caliban and Lord Grandrith (a thinly disguised Tarzan) cease fighting each other upon learning that their personal war and indeed their entire lives were engineered by the Nine, a megalomaniacal and powerful secret society. The two men have a sexual affliction in common; they are impotent except when performing acts of violence. This is caused by a serum that grants them eternal life--another product of the Nine. Angered by the ways they have been manipulated, the two heroes split up to overthrow the Nine, ultimately meeting up at the end. The Mad Goblin shows the story from Caliban's point of view. Lord of the Trees tells the same story from Lord Grandrith's viewpoint. During the events of the book, Caliban (assisted by "Porky" Rivers and "Jocko" Simmons, analogues of "Ham" Brooks and "Monk" Mayfair from the Doc Savage stories) kills two members of the Nine, Jiinfan and Iwaldi. The oldest member of the Nine, XauXaz, had previously died of extreme age in A Feast Unknown. Grandrith kills one other, Mubaniga, in Lord of the Trees. In the end, only five of the Nine remain alive. 

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The young revolutionary Nelson Mandela is arrested, and it is the task of censor James Gregory to watch him. He has long since moved to South Africa with the family for his work in the prison of Robben Island, and slowly he clashes with the politics and racist culture of his countrymen. 

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The High Council is floundering, the population is restless, and the monks are excited by an ancient prophecy they have discovered. The player characters are assembled to restore the Celtic kingdom of Pellham to its former glory. To Find a King is the first of the two-part "Prophecy of Brie" series, and includes a wilderness section, a bugbear lair, and a mirror maze. 

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The game begins in Alaska, where a hunter (the nameless player character) meets a man named Hugh Andrews. Hugh is a native with a glass eye and a wooden leg. He has important information about the player's old friend, "Bullseye" Bill Lewis. The player practices and then hunts whitetail deer, progressing to fight a cougar and a grizzly bear to complete the first level. The next level takes place elsewhere in Alaska, where the hunter fights his way through wolves and another mountain lion to rescue Hugh's niece and nephew. In the next, the hunter fights wolves, a grizzly bear and another mountain lion to reach a ridge and rescue Hugh Andrews, the hunter's guide, dodging bear traps to reach him. At the beginning of the next level, the hunter fights his way back to the bear cave and then meets Hugh's niece and nephew. He must bait the grizzly with boar meat and kill it. The hunter then progresses to Africa seeking the legendary big game hunter "Bullseye" Bill Lewis, where the hunter crash lands with the player's pilot, Abby Pendleton, in the bush and must find shelter fighting hyenas. The hunter and guide run into a leopard pair, kill them, and then head to a nearby shelter. Then the hunter must hike to a radio tower to send an SOS fighting leopards, cobras and crocodiles and crossing quicksand. After the SOS has been sent, lions attack Abby.. The hunter kills the alpha male and two more lions to complete the level. In the next, the hunter discovers that the man he came to Africa to see has left to find his wife, who is lost somewhere in the bush. Because it is Holy Land, and because gunfire already makes the animals mad, the hunter can only use a bow and arrow. The player fights lions from the back of a truck until the tribe leader can drive no further. The player then proceeds on foot and kill a hippopotamus and hunting the herd Thomson's gazelles and more lions to reach the wife of Hamisi, who agrees to take the hunter to a poachers nearby camp, led by a former partner Dimitri Benedik, and states that he was with 'Bullseye" when the incident happened but cannot remember much about it. In a cutscene a poacher frightens some elephants by firing a shotgun. The hunter has to tranquilize them from the back of a truck before they get to Hamisi's village. Once the player reaches the village, the level comes to an end. The next stage takes place in India and involves tranquilizing tigers, dodging cages, and an Asian black bear with Reginald Dowling, who serves as the player's guide for the remainder of the game. After a cutscene, Reginald is told to get back to the Wilderness Rescue campsite, where another bear is on the rampage and must be tranquilized before it kills someone else. Progressing to the next level, the hunter must rescue a child, fighting tigers, avoiding cobras, bees, and cages. After finding the child, the hunter encounters an Indian rhinoceros and must tranquilize it. The action now moves to Australia, where the hunter meets Wirake, a native aboriginal. He can only speak in beeps, pops, clicks and whistles, but tells the hunter and Reginald that some of his tribesmen are lost in the bush. The player faces two scrub bulls at a river, as well as two crocodiles, having to either kill one and leave the other or get eaten alive by both of them. The hunter then rescues the tribesmen, and the remainder of the level consists of dodging crocodile attacks and stampeding buffalo. Next, the player moves to another part of Australia. The hunter and Reginald are lost after falling into a cave. The player begins the level without a weapon, but after a short cutscene a knife is obtained. This mission consists of fighting off dingoes while escaping the cave. With the new guide, Wirake, the hunter fights fight pumas and wild boars to escape from some Argentinian ruins. After some time, Wirake notes that Reginald has disappeared. He had been chased off by a puma, and the player must rescue him. After finding Reginald trying to fend off the puma with a stick, the hunter kills it and the level ends. Progressing to Siberia, the player snipes boars from a helicopter and then on foot, after Reginald realizes he brought the wrong ammo. The player then must travel to a nearby depot, and on the way runs into and kills Hogzilla, a giant wild boar. The hunter travels with Wirake and Reginald to fight wolves, polar bears, and a final group of boars. After that, the player meets up with Benedek and his poachers. In further cutscenes, the hunter fights Big Grimm, a Giant Male polar bear, and then a Yeti. The game ends after a cutscene showing Reginald and Wirake congratulating the hunter on bringing down the beast that killed Bullseye. Just when Reginald thinks they can finally have a vacation, he gets a call from Wilderness Rescue about an anaconda attack. 

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After a spectacular prelude, the film begins on a train journey with Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife Alma (Georgina Hale) confronting their failing marriage. The story is then recounted in a series of flashbacks (some of which are surrealistic and nightmarish), taking one through Mahler's childhood, his brother's suicide, his experience with antisemitism, his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, his marital problems, and the death of his young daughter. The film also contains a surreal fantasy sequence involving the anti-Semitic Cosima Wagner (Antonia Ellis), widow of Richard Wagner, whose objections to his taking control of the Court Opera were supposedly removed by his conversion to Catholicism. In the process, the film explores Mahler's music and its relationship to his life. 

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While investigating an alien derelict, Geordi La Forge and Data are sent to a solar system several light-years away by a transporter with interstellar range, to a similar derelict orbiting an Earth-like planet. Once there, they are mistaken for "the Builders", those who the planet's native populace, a culture similar to late-20th-century Earth, believe are the creators of the derelict, which they call the "Repository of the Gifts". One of the natives, Shar-Lon, discovered the Repository some years before and used its "Gifts" (advanced technology) to end planetary wars that were leading to a possible nuclear holocaust. However, Shar-Lon's use of the Gifts since that time has led to a worldwide perception of himself and his supporters, the Peacekeepers, as a suppressive force that has limited the social and technological advancement of their people. Assuming the role of "Builders" in order to assess their situation, La Forge and Data are drawn into the social politics of the Peacekeepers and their world, and must extract themselves from the situation and find a way back to the Enterprise without further harming the natives' culture and violating the Prime Directive. 

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The Enterprise is called in to deal with Treva, a human colony on the fringes of known space. For a time, it was thought to be a suitable candidate for Federation membership. Now it has sent a distress call because a brutal warlord has seized power and a revolution has sprung up. Tasha Yar is sent down with the android Data. The two soon discover the situation is more complicated than originally thought. The warlord wants Federation weapons to use against the rebels and is willing to kill whomever it takes to accomplish this goal. The novel also focuses on the unique relationship between Yar and Data and how the current situation correlates with Yar's brutal childhood. 

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In this book a race of aliens who have fought with the Klingons for centuries, called the Kreel, find a large stash of advanced weapons hidden on a strange planet on the Kreel-Klingon border. The Kreel are as scavengers and had, plundered the destroyed colony that was Worf's childhood home. They declare war on the Klingons, and the crew of the USS Enterprise are asked to help with the peace negotiations. 

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Mallory, a private investigator from New York, spends New Year’s Eve in his office, with a bottle of whisky, and in a terrible mood. His business partner left for California with Mallory’s wife, having also blackmailed some of their clients. Since the infuriated victims head for the detective’s office, it seems that the night will end up tragically; yet, the plot suddenly takes an unexpected turn as in the room appears a strange creature, an elf called Mürgenstürm. Mürgenstürm, who comes from an alternative world, is in equally serious trouble. He was obliged to guard a valuable animal, the unicorn called Larkspur. He neglected his duty and the unicorn was stolen. Now, the elf’s life is in danger, so he wants to take advantage of Mallory’s service. As he has no other way out of trouble the detective decides to follow Mürgenstürm, and to search for the stolen animal. They enter the alternative New York through the gate in the basement of the very building where Mallory has his office. When the detective examines the scene of the crime, he encounters the eye-witness, a cat-girl Felina, who, despite her cat-like personality, will become Mallory’s loyal partner. She reveals that the culprit is a leprechaun, Gillespie, who is working for a perilous and powerful demon, Grundy, that is responsible for spreading evil in both New Yorks. At the same time, the Grundy finds out about Mallory’s investigation and tries to dissuade him from taking further steps. Nevertheless, Mallory does not abandon the investigation and in search of information about the unicorn visits various places in the alternative New York, such as the Museum of Natural History, full of dead yet regularly reviving animals, and Central Park, occupied by wholesalers offering completely useless goods. On his way Mallory meets Eohippus, a six-inch tall horse that helps him find the expert on unicorns, a former huntress still craving for adventure, Colonel Winifred Carruthers. Unlike Mürgenstürm, who gradually turns out to be more an accomplice in the crime than the victim, Carruthers and Eohippus are valuable allies. Due to Colonel, Mallory comes into contact with a magician, The Great Mephisto, and finds out the motives for the crime. In the unicorn’s head there is a ruby that would enable the Grundy to move freely between the two worlds and gain more power than he has ever had. After a long search Mallory reaches Gillespie’s flat on the 13th floor of a cheap hotel only to find out that the leprechaun ran away, the unicorn is already dead, and the gate between the two cities begins to close. In the meantime, Mallory’s partners, Colonel and Eohippus, are caught by Gillespie. Soon after that the detective receives an invitation to the auction at which the precious ruby is to be sold. The Grundy appears there too, and he seems to have all the cards. Yet, it turns out that Mallory, with the help of Felina, has already found and hidden the jewel, which gives him an advantage over the enemy. Grundy sets Mallory’s friends free and agrees to wait until the detective delivers the ruby. Mallory, who has no intention of letting the Grundy wreak havoc in both worlds, has the jewel transported to "his" New York just before the passage between the two worlds closes. Then he meets the Grundy only to inform him about it. Since the demon cannot be sure whether Mallory tells the truth he does not dare to kill the detective, but promises to have his revenge in the future. Mallory is content to stay in the alternative New York, where his work makes more sense. He is determined to continue his struggle against evil having the noble Colonel and of the mysterious Felina at his side. 

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The story involves a series of murders in which the victims are all either Roman Catholic priests or nuns, each of whom is found with a black rosary. Father Koesler goes in search of the murderer but is caught in a quandary when the murderer confesses the crimes to him. He is unable to break the seal of confession by going to the police. 

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The film begins in the celestial realms, with three superhuman entities—gods, or perhaps, angels (one of them played by a young, highly-made-up, shirtless George Sanders in an early role)—regarding the planet Earth. Despairing of these "animals" that one of them continues to care about, the other two dare him to conduct an experiment to see if such lesser creatures can handle the kind of power over reality that might let them deserve to reach the stars. As the experiment's only limit, the Celestials will allow no control over a person's free will, as decreed by their Master (possibly God). Choosing a human subject at random—though, necessarily, an ordinary if not downright foolish British subject—they bestow miraculous powers just short of their own upon one George Fotheringay (Roland Young), an English middle-class haberdasher's assistant. Fotheringay enters the Long Dragon Pub and begins arguing with his friends about miracles and the impossibility of them. During this argument he calls upon his "will" to force a change and inadvertently causes a miracle: he makes an oil lamp turn upside down, without anyone touching it and with the flame burning steadily downwards rather than righting itself. He soon runs out of his miracle-sustaining willpower and is thrown out of the pub for spilling oil on the floor and causing a commotion. When he arrives home, he performs the same trick with a small candle and finds that it works. He is so overjoyed that he spends the better part of the night working miracles such as lifting his table, lifting his bed, enlarging a candle-extinguisher to a brightly painted cone, making a kitten appear under it, and turning his bed into a cornucopia of fruits and fluffy bunnies. American cinematographer Harold Rosson, whom MGM frequently loaned out for British productions, has fun with what were still novelty special effects in 1936, using locked-down cameras to create chairs and tables that move by themselves and appear and disappear at whim. The next day, Fotheringay makes his miracles known to the public—or, rather, that small portion of the clothing store where he works, impressing the girls with vanishing freckles and a co-worker with how quickly he can make shirts fold neatly and put themselves away. A policeman discovers these powers; when he begins to annoy Fotheringay, Fotheringay curses, telling him to "Go to blazes [hell]!" – where the poor bobby then finds himself surrounded by flames and swirling smoke. Fotheringay, horrified at his unintended action, has the cop relocated to San Francisco, where he finds himself in the midst of a traffic jam and chased by American policemen himself. Because Fotheringay cannot decide on how to use his newfound powers, he contacts Mr. Maydig, the local vicar. The vicar thinks up a plan to bring about a Golden Age and have Fotheringay abolish famine, plague, war and poverty—and, while they're at it, the British ruling class. They celebrate this by playing a miraculous trick on one of the local gentry, Colonel Wistanley (quite severely but endearingly overplayed by Ralph Richardson, who appears to be made up for the stage, not film), having his whisky turn to undrinkable soap water, and his swords and weapon collection turn into a wild display of agricultural tools. When Whistanley hears about Fotheringay, he's baffled and then quite threatened by this vicar-inspired plan to change the world as he knows it, which he believes works just fine. Fotheringay points out that, of course, it works fine for the Colonel, but not really for the rest of them, himself included. Exasperated at being unable to change the man's mind, the Colonel consults with his equally embattled fellow gentry and decides the only sensible solution is to shoot the man dead, his guns having helpfully not been converted by the earlier miracle. His first shot misses Fotheringay, who manages to make himself magically invulnerable. Realizing that others, even the vicar, wish to exploit him for their own ends, Fotheringay decides not to trigger a Golden Age after all, but instead to create an old-fashioned kingdom in which he is the centre of the universe. In a fit of reckless pompousness, he changes the Colonel's house into a spectacular palace of real gold and marble. He then summons up all the pretty girls, not to mention the Colonel's entire regiment, dressed as Beefeaters, after which he summons the butlers in Essex, the leaders of the world, the teachers, musicians, priests, etc. He dresses up like a king and appoints the girl he loves as queen, then commands the leaders of the world to create a utopia, free of greed, war, plague, famine, jealousy, and toil. Maydig begs Fotheringay to wait until the following day, so Fotheringay buys some time by making the Earth stop rotating. Alas, he fails to consider the basic physics of the rotation of the planet and so sends his palace, all living creatures and objects whirling off the world's surface. Civilization and all life (save Fotheringay) are obliterated as everything in the world flies through the air and is dashed to pieces. The desperate and contrite Fotheringay calls on his powers one last time to put things back as they were before he ever entered the pub the day before, willing away his power to work miracles. Fotheringay appears again in the pub as in the early scenes of the film, again tries the trick with the lamp, and fails. One of the Celestials remarks on the experiment, that all that came out of it was 'negativism, lust, and vindictive indignation' and that's all humans have. The giver of power defends that humans were only apes yesterday, and need time to grow up. Retorted, 'once an ape, always an ape,' he argues that there is a spark of indignation against wrongness in the human heart. Against the argument that indignation is selfish, that humanity was made for the mess, and will never get out of it, the giver of power decides to give humanity power slowly, bit by bit, allowing wisdom and maturity to keep pace. The others think the end result will be the same but are dared to come back in an age or so and see for themselves. 

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A tramp seeking shelter in the Burkes' isolated farmhouse finds Nora tending to the corpse of Dan. Nora goes out to find Michael, and Dan reveals to the tramp that his death is a mere ruse. He plays dead again when Nora and Michael return, but leaps up in protest when Michael proposes to Nora. Dan kicks Nora out to wander the roads and she leaves with the tramp, who promises her a life of freedom. 

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In Dragons of Ice, after leaving Thorbardin, the player characters head south into the polar regions, journeying along the glaciers in search of Icewall Castle. The characters encounter Ice Folk, ice-skate boats, and the Walrus-Men. Characters begin play at the ancient port city of Tarsis in the world of Krynn. After an attack by the Dragonarmies on Tarsis, the party is driven south to Icewall Castle, which is home to a white dragon and one of the legendary Dragon Orbs. After the Cataclysm, the seas receded from the port city Tarsis, so instead of finding a port the characters have found a land locked city inland. The adventure series version of Dragons of Winter Night, book two of the Dragonlance saga, will follow part of the party from the first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Returning playable characters available are Sturm Brightblade, Flint Fireforge and Tasslehoff Burrfoot and Gilthanas. Laurana and Elistan, previously appearing NPC's, are now also playable as characters. Additionally two Knights of Solamnia, Aaron Tallbow and Derek Crownguard, are available for players if required. Aaron will appear as an NPC with the party if he is not used by a player. The other characters from the first book leave from Tarsis in a different direction at the beginning of DL10 Dragons of Dreams. 

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Dragons of Faith is a continuation of the Dragonlance story. It begins about a month after the party leaves the elven forest of Silvanesti and concludes some time after they leave the city of Istar. The prologue gives the background and the story up to that point, as well as an overview of the way events should proceed in the module for the Dungeon Master to reference. In this scenario, the player characters flee the evil city of Flotsam and cross the Blood Sea, where they encounter Istar, the City of the Deep, and become involved in an undersea battle. In the undersea city of Istar, the sea elves are under threat from a group of the dragon armies. At this point, if the Battlesystem rules are used, the major underwater battle involving Istar can be run, for which new rules are given. The Dungeon Master draws from a deck of Talis cards (the tarot of Krynn), to determine the events of the adventure. After this battle, the player characters must sail across the Blood Sea of Istar into enemy territory, evade the forces of the Dragon Highlords and according to the module's teaser, "capture the crucial pawn before darkness snatches it away!" This module can be played as a stand-alone adventure or used as part of the larger sequence of Dragonlance adventures. 

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The film's title character, Francis, lives with his invalid, abusive mother in a dingy tenement apartment, and has suffered a life of unrelenting misfortune and brutality, further impacted by a stutter. Over time, he has withdrawn from the world and into himself, silently observing others rather than interacting with them. His only solace has been his Catholic faith, but he has begun to question his belief in a loving God who could countenance so much evil and pain. When he discovers he can see into the apartment of a beautiful, mysterious woman from his own back stairs, Francis cannot stop watching her, even after he meets her and they become romantically involved. Unable or unwilling to believe that she could actually love him, he becomes ever more obsessive in his voyeurism. And it is what Francis sees – or thinks he sees – that leads ultimately to his undoing. 

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Ed Saxon (Jeff Daniels), a college professor, wakes up to find his wife has not returned to their Seattle home. He takes some mysterious pills, then calls one of his wife's friends, Susie (Molly Price), confusedly asking whether he should be worried. Susie suggests that he call the local hospital, but they have no record of his wife being admitted. After further consulting Susie, he decides to call the police. When Detective Derm (Gil Bellows) arrives, Derm takes pills similar to Saxon's. They check her workplace and listen to some messages on the answering machine. George Simian (Julian McMahon) has left a message, inquiring about his wife, and Derm remarks that her abandoned car was found near Simian's house. Saxon also has to deal with the college, annoyed that he didn't show up to teach his class, which leads one of his students, Sadie (Emily Bergl), to also leave a message. Saxon suffers a series of hallucinations and blackouts, advancing time quickly. In short time, he receives increasingly irritated calls from work, which he blows off; an abusive phone call from George Simian, followed by a physical altercation; and a visit by Sadie, concerned about his unexplained absences. Saxon declines to tell Sadie about his missing wife, instead telling her that his wife is visiting her mother. Sadie collapses in the bathroom, bloodying her nose, and complains of having heard a woman scream. Saxon explains that the neighbors, who fight often, can sometimes be heard from his house, and he gives her a change of clothes. After she leaves, Derm returns, wanting to search the house for clues. Sadie's bloody shirt is discovered by Derm, who seems satisfied with Saxon's explanation. Derm also finds a diary, which Saxon didn't know his wife kept. In it, Saxon's wife expresses mixed emotions for her husband, including pity, contempt, and fear. Despite his promise to give the diary to Derm, Saxon burns the diary. Geoffrey Costas (Zach Grenier), a psychiatrist who leads a victim support group, visits Saxon, offering him comfort. Saxon initially declines, before soliciting stronger medication, to fight off long-term insomnia. Despite the strong medication, Saxon does not seem to fall asleep, though he suffers more blackouts and apparent hallucinations. Sadie returns to his house, concerned that he has missed more classes, but Susie interrupts them. Saxon angrily brushes aside Susie's concerns and explains that Sadie is just a student. After he gets rid of Susie, Sadie expresses her feelings of loneliness and isolation, as well as admiration for Saxon's poetry. This leads to an abortive tryst, which Saxon abruptly calls off. Humiliated and confused, Sadie leaves. Derm calls Saxon to reveal that they've discovered his wife's body. Depressed, Saxon welcomes the chance to talk to Costas again. They discuss how traumatic events can lead to inappropriate guilt, and Costas convinces Saxon to allow him to speak to the police, on his behalf. However, the police reveal that they have not discovered the wife's body, after all, leading both Costas and Derm to suspect Saxon. Saxon has further hallucinations, leading him to suspect himself, as well. Simian, who had been arrested previously for assaulting Saxon, returns to Saxon's house again, enraged and seeking to kill Saxon. Saxon instead kills Simian, and, consumed with guilt, swallows every pill that he can find. Derm, arriving at the house afterward, kneels down, in front of Saxon, while Saxon denies killing anyone. The bathtub then overflows with blood, and Saxon sees his wife playing the piano. 

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Ravager of Time is set in the Ffenarch. The Ffenarch is a dismal, boggy environment with only some small areas of firm ground. The player characters are hired to search the fens for a lord's son who killed his father. While searching, the characters become entangled in an evil plot that is tainting Eylea. Long before the adventurers were hired, Lord Temporal Rughlor returned from the wider world to settle at Ffenargh Manor, Lorge, with his radiant young wife, Nuala. But Nuala's beauty hid a will for evil and a hunger for the forgotten lore of an ancient wizard buried below Lorge. Rughlor discovered his wife's evil intentions and destroyed her himself. As a result, Lorge was abandoned. However, Nuala's treacherous beauty, even as a distorted tale, fascinated another scion of Ffenargh Manor, Miles D'Arcy. D'Arcy, with the aid of a thief and one of Eylea's strange relics, found Nuala's remains and resurrected her. He completed her last spell, causing his own doom, and embroiling a group of powerful adventurers in Nuala's plot to gain allies in her bid for power in the Ffenargh. Nuala now plans to use these adventurers and her own new powers to overthrow the creaky clerical hierarchy of Eylea and rule Ffenargh. 

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A security guard's wife is killed in a seemingly random incident. Prompted by mysterious visions, he journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder. 

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In 1994, Sean Veil is acquitted of charges relating to an infamous triple murder. He becomes paranoid that the police are trying to frame him for this and other crimes. A book based on his trial called Darkness Invisible is released. The author, Saul Seger, accuses Veil. Veil responds by filming every moment of his life to provide himself with an alibi. However, some of his tapes go missing. Veil goes on the run, tries to create an alibi and investigates the conspiracy against him. Katie Carter, a young reporter, says she would like to help Veil prove his innocence but Veil refuses her offer. Veil is assaulted and apprehended by police wishing to interrogate him. Veil shows detectives Emeric (who is dying of lung cancer) and Mountjoy the many tapes he has made. Emeric and Mountjoy leave but Veil finds one of his tapes is missing. Veil then becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a prostitute. At the morgue, the prostitute's body is mysteriously replaced by that of Seger, who has had his throat cut. Veil is convicted and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. However, one of Veil's tapes proves his innocence and he is released. Veil returns home and is shocked to find Seger alive. Both Carter and Seger are guilty of serious crimes. They tried to frame Veil for their crimes. Veil asks Seger who is trying to frame him but Seger refuses to say. In fact, Carter hired the prostitute to steal one of Veil's tapes and then killed her by accident. Carter's father killed his wife and family and then killed himself when he found his wife was having an affair. By coincidence, Veil was at the murder scene, leaving his fingerprints. Carter shoots Seger dead, then knocks Veil out. Waking up, Veil finds Carter raping him in order to frame him; she destroys his tapes afterwards. However, Carter finds herself feeling too guilty for her actions to kill Veil. Emeric arrives at Veil's home. An altercation leaves both Emeric and Carter dead. Detective Mountjoy arrives. Veil shows him what happened as he has filmed the events on his webcam. Before the film ends, Veil makes a list of things to remember: whom to trust, how to be careful, how to be a step ahead, and how to prove one's innocence. He must never stop filming himself because being off camera is "like being off guard". 

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Simon Cable wakes up in a hospital bed, confused and disoriented. He soon discovers from doctors that he has amnesia and is unable to remember the last two years of his life. Cable investigates what has happened to him and slowly pieces together his enigmatic past. 

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In this scenario, the player characters try to lift the curse which has brought death and drought to the land known as the Downs. As they travel to a Great Druid to ask for his help, they travel across the mountains and through the forest where they encounter brigands, goblins, bugbears, gypsies, and a yeti. The Downs, a lush valley on the edge of the Greate Olde Woode, are dying. Livestock and crops simply rot and drop to the parched ground. The druids who have protected the area have retreated into the thick forest, and the party must find them to undo the evil that's happening in the Downs. 

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Awaking alone in the middle of a dark forest, Kang Min sees a secluded cabin nearby and wanders towards it. Upon entering the small home, he is shocked to discover a brutal, bloody crime had taken place. A man, hacked repeatedly by a sickle, lies on the floor, dead. Min hears a noise nearby and discovers his girlfriend Su-Young, stabbed and nearly dead, stammering something about "spiders." Before he could save his loved one, Min is caught off guard by the killer who unexpectedly emerges and dashes out of the cabin. Min grabs the sickle and pursues the dark figure through the shadowy woods of the Spider Forest, only to be temporarily knocked out with a blunt blow to the face. Min, being disoriented and slightly dazed, sees the killer enter into a tunnel on a road nearby and stumbles after him. Yet upon entering the tunnel, a speeding SUV collides with Min and throws him to the ground, severely injured by the impact. As he lies on the pavement with his blood streaming across the ground, the dark figure approaches Min and stands mere inches away, as if mocking his inability to capture him. Min extends his arm, desperately trying to grab him, but in vain and he soon loses consciousness... Min wakes- up fourteen days later at a local hospital with his head heavily bandaged. His friend, a police detective named Choi, is at his bedside to both comfort and question him about the murders. Min discovers that he, in fact, is the prime suspect of the killings due to his fingerprints being on the sickle that he picked up and his relationship with the victims. Choi, wanting to believe in his friend's innocence, asks Min to tell him everything that had happened leading up to the brutal crime. Weaving in and out of consciousness, Min tries to reconstruct the bizarre events, but it proves to be a too difficult task. Min finds that there are some details he cannot remember, while other details he can't even be sure they actually happened. The boundary between dreams and reality become blurred as he tries to piece together his enigmatic past in an effort to complete a puzzle that will, hopefully, prove his innocence... 

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Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski), a quiet and unassuming man, rents an apartment in Paris whose previous tenant, Egyptologist Simone Choule, attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself out of the window and through a pane of glass below. He visits Choule in the hospital but finds her entirely in bandages and unable to talk. Whilst still at Choule's bedside, Trelkovsky meets Simone's friend, Stella (Isabelle Adjani), who has also come to visit. Stella is overwhelmed with emotion and begins talking to Simone, who looks towards her visitors and lets out a disturbing cry. The matron insists they leave, having already informed Trelkovsky that he may not speak to Choule. Trelkovsky tries to comfort Stella but dares not say that he never knew Simone, instead pretending to be another friend. They leave together and go out for a drink and a movie (1973's Enter The Dragon), where they fondle each other. Outside the theatre they part ways. Later, Trelkovsky calls up the hospital to enquire about Choule, and is told she has died. As Trelkovsky occupies the apartment he is chastised repeatedly by his neighbors and landlord, Monsieur Zy (Melvyn Douglas), for hosting a party with his friends, apparently having a woman over, making too much noise in general, and not joining in on a petition against another neighbor. Trelkovsky attempts to adapt to his situation, but is increasingly disturbed by the apartment and the other tenants. He frequently sees his neighbors standing motionless in the toilet room (which he can see from his own window), and discovers a hole in the wall with a human tooth stashed inside. He discusses this with his friends, who do not find things strange and belittle him for not standing up to his neighbours. He visits the apartment of one of his work friends, who plays a marching band record at a spitefully loud volume. A neighbour politely asks him to turn down the music, as his wife is ill and trying to sleep. Trelkovsky turns the record down, but his friend tells the neighbour that he will play his music as he wants, and that he does not care about his sick wife. He receives a visit from one Georges Badar (Rufus), who secretly loved Simone and has believed her to be alive and well. Trelkovsky updates and comforts the man and spends the night out with him. He receives a postcard that Badar had posted before realising Simone had died. Frequenting the nearby café which Choule also patronised, he is recognised as the new tenant of her apartment. The owner pressures him into having Choule's regular order, which is then always given to him without being ordered, against his preferences. They are always out of his preferred choice of cigarette, Gauloises, so he develops a habit of ordering Marlboros, which Choule used to order. Nobody has any idea why Choule was suicidal. Trelkovsky becomes severely agitated and enraged when his apartment is robbed, while his neighbors and the concierge (Shelley Winters) continue to berate him for making too much noise, and his landlord warns him not to inform the police of the burglary. Suffering from fever and bad dreams, he wakes up one morning to find his face made up. He buys a wig and women's shoes and goes on to dress up (using Simone's dress which he had found in a cupboard) and sit still in his apartment in the dead of night. He suspects that Zy and neighbors are trying to subtly change him into the last tenant, Choule, so that he too will kill himself. He becomes hostile and paranoid in his day-to-day environment (snapping at his friends, slapping a child in a park) and his mental state progressively deteriorates. He has visions of his neighbors playing football with a human head, finds the toilet covered in hieroglyphs, and looking across the courtyard, sees himself standing at his apartment window, looking into the bathroom with binoculars. Trelkovsky runs off to Stella for comfort and sleeps over, but in the morning after she has left for work, he concludes that she too is in on his neighbors' plot, and proceeds to vandalise and burgle her apartment before departing. At night he is hit by an elderly couple driving a car. He is not injured too seriously, but receives a sedative injection from the doctor due to his odd behavior — he perceives the elderly couple as his landlord Zy and wife, and accuses them of trying to murder him. The couple returns him to his apartment. A deranged Trelkovsky dresses up again as a woman and throws himself out of the apartment window in the manner of Simone Choule, before what he believes to be a clapping, cheering audience composed of his neighbors. The suicide attempt wakes up his neighbors, who call the police and attempt to restrain him. He crawls away from them back to his apartment, and jumps out the window a second time moments after the police arrive. In the final scene, Trelkovsky is bandaged up in the same fashion as Simone Choule, in the same hospital bed. From his perspective, we see his and Stella's own visit to Simone. Trelkovsky then lets out the same disturbing cry as Simone did in the earlier scene. 

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Ben (Colin Firth) awakens from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in a car accident. A few weeks later, Ben is out of the hospital and, attempting to start a new life, he moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour Charlotte (Mena Suvari). Haunted by visions of his dead wife, Ben starts to lose his grip on reality. 

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The characters begin in the Korinn Archipelago, and have been captured by slavers. A sea storm sends the pirate ship on which the characters are being held off course, and it crashes on an island once ruled by Viledel, the Sea King.Allston, Aaron. Treasure Hunt (TSR, 1986) On this island, a treasure has become the cause of a battle between orcs and goblins. The characters begin with no weapons, no money, and no possessions. After the shipwreck, the characters' freedom is able to develop gradually, allowing them to make meaningful choices which will help them determine their career. 

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In 1929, , a young girl living in a poor fishing village by the sea, is sold to a geisha house by her father alongside her sister, , so that they might send money back home. is taken in by , the "Mother" (proprietress) of a geisha house in in Kyoto, whereas , deemed too unattractive, is sent to a brothel instead. meets "Granny" and "Auntie", the other women who run the house, and the 's only working geisha, , who is beautiful but cruel. meets another young girl nicknamed Pumpkin, who she becomes friends with. quickly becomes jealous of , seeing her as a potential rival, and intimidates into acting as her servant and doing anything she says. and Pumpkin soon begin training as geisha at a nearby school, alongside hundreds of other girls. One night, , returning drunk from a night out, forces to destroy a kimono belonging to 's geisha rival, before returning it to her house. catches , who is blamed for its destruction and punished by being lashed, and is told that she now owes the even more money, on top of her 'purchase price' and the cost of her geisha training. Following a tip from (who hopes will run away forever), sneaks out of the house and finds her sister in the red light district. They make plans to run away the following night. When returns to the that night, she finds having sex with her boyfriend, , whom she is not supposed to be seeing. When caught, runs away, and lies, blaming for stealing and attempting to run away; however, Mother still forbids from seeing again, with everyone barred from leaving the at night except to attend work engagements. The next night, sneaks out to meet and accidentally falls off a rooftop, causing serious injury. Mother stops investing in 's geisha training and instead makes her a servant to the to pay off her debts. Mother then tells that her parents have died; never sees again. One day, while crying on a riverbank when out on an errand, is noticed by Chairman and his geisha companions. He buys her a shaved ice dessert and gives her his handkerchief and some money. Inspired by his act of kindness, resolves to become a geisha so that she might become a part of the Chairman's life. Several years later, Pumpkin debuts as a , an apprentice geisha, under 's tutelage. Shortly afterwards, is taken under the wing of , who persuades Mother to reinvest in 's geisha training, promising to pay her twice over after her debut. becomes a and takes the name of . introduces to the Chairman and - the Chairman's business partner - at a sumo match. takes a liking to her, though prefers the Chairman. To increase her popularity, orchestrates a bidding war for 's , after which she will become a full geisha. starts spreading rumors that has already lost her virginity, making it difficult to secure bidders. To counter this, arranges for to perform as the lead dancer for a popular dance performance, enraging with jealousy. 's performance attracts the attention of several men, including the Baron, 's ). When Dr. Crab congratulates at the after party, she convinces him not to listen to 's lies. The Baron later invites her to come to his estate for a cherry blossom- viewing party. When the Baron presents a kimono to in private, he undresses her against her will, but does not go any further. 's is won with a record- breaking bid of fifteen thousand yen. Mother decides to name her as her adopted daughter and the heiress to the , crushing Pumpkin and enraging . When returning home from the ceremony, finds a drunken in her room, where she has found the Chairman's handkerchief. The two fight and a gas lantern is knocked over, igniting a fire. The is saved and is banished from . Her fate is left uncertain. 's successful career is cut short by the outbreak of World War II. In 1944, working geisha districts are closed, with many of 's geisha evacuated elsewhere. The Chairman sends to work as an assistant for a doctor, while he sends to the countryside, where she works for a kimono maker. After the war ends, asks to help him impress an American Colonel who could approve funding for their business. reunites with , who reluctantly agrees to help impress the Colonel. is reacquainted with Pumpkin, who is now working as an escort. travels with , the Chairman, , Pumpkin and the American soldiers to the Amami Islands. The Colonel propositions , but she rejects him. confronts after seeing the proposition and confesses his desire to become her . devises a plan to have catch her being intimate with the Colonel, hoping that he will lose his feelings for her, and enlists Pumpkin's help to do so. However, Pumpkin's resentment of leads her to bring the Chairman instead. When confronts her, Pumpkin coldly tells her that she acted in revenge of 's adoption. After returning to , receives a summons from a nearby tea-house. Expecting , is instead surprised to see the Chairman, who confesses that he always knew of her identity, but refused to interfere with 's feelings out of respect. The Chairman also tells of having organised for to become her mentor. confesses her love to the Chairman and they share a kiss, before taking a quiet stroll through the teahouse garden. 

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The film takes place during the 1960s space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dr. Wilhelm von Huber (James Woods), a top NASA scientist, relocates to Cape Canaveral with his 12-year-old son, Billy (Alex D. Linz). Their relationship has become strained in the wake of the recent death of Billy's mother, and the ever-widening gap between father and son has become obvious. Billy finds his father old-fashioned and boring. He wants to lead an exciting life: to be a hero like the astronaut Alan Shepard. However, Billy's life takes an exciting turn when he is hired by Dr. Donni McGuinness (Annabeth Gish), the Director of Veterinary Sciences, to help train the chimpanzees for NASA space missions. Billy begins to develop a close bond with one particular chimp named Mac. With Billy's help and companionship, Mac is chosen to become the first American astronaut launched into space. All seems like a wonderful game until Billy realizes that his new friend is being prepared to be hurled hundreds of miles into orbit on a historical mission - and that someone (William Atherton) at NASA is about to sabotage the mission. Mac's big chance to explore the farthest frontier and hurtle America ahead in the race to space might easily cost him his life. 

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Blackrock is an Australian beachside working-class suburb where surfing is popular among youths like Jared. He has his first serious girlfriend, Rachel, who comes from a much wealthier part of the city. One day Ricko, the local surfing legend, returns from an eleven-month trip. Rachel's brother Toby's 18th birthday party is being held at the local beach club a few days later, and Jared decides to merge a 'welcome home' party for Ricko with the event. The party is unsupervised with alcohol freely available. The following morning, it is revealed that 15-year-old Tracy Warner was killed at the party. Three youths from the party, Davo, Scott, and Toby, tell Ricko that they raped Tracy, though left her alive. The three boys are later arrested for the sexual assault. Ricko confesses to Jared that he killed Tracy. He says he was attempting to have sex with her when she bit him and kicked him, so in a moment of rage he grabbed a rock and hit her with it. He has already told police that he was with Jared all night and asks Jared to confirm his alibi in the name of mateship; Jared is torn between telling the truth and protecting his friend. After witnessing Ricko's abusive behaviour towards their friend Tiffany, Jared decides to tell the truth. Ricko is detained by police and hangs himself in his cell. Jared's silence leads to the breakdown of his relationships with both Rachel and his mother Diane. In the plays last scene Jared confesses to Diane that he witnessed the three youths raping Tracy, though he did not intervene. He is unsure why he did nothing though he believes it was out of loyalty to the boys who were his mates. Ricko left Jared a suicide note giving him his van, though Jared asks his cousin Cherie to dump the keys to the van in the ocean when she goes out surfing. 

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The plot begins when Ryu is called upon by the Japanese Self-Defense Force to deal with a terrorist group led by the mysterious alchemist, the Regent of the Mask, who personally wanted the Dragon Ninja to come. Upon encountering the alchemist at the Prime Minister's residence in London, he curses Ryu's right arm with the Grip of Murder which thrives on all the lives Ryu has taken, causing the Dragon Sword to be absorbed into Ryu's arm. Later, Ryu and JSDF member Mizuki McCloud watch as the Regent demands the immediate surrender by the nations of the world in seven days, or face annihilation. After the JDSF's ship Yunagi intercepts a signal coming from the Rub' al Khali desert, Ryu departs there with Mizuki and meets Ayane, who gives him the Tenshin clan's treasured Jinran-Maru sword at Hayate's request. Ryu makes his way to a tower in the desert, where he again encounters the Regent of the Mask, who reveals that the affliction of the Grip of Murder used the Dragon Sword as a medium for the curse, then broke its structure down and transmutated it into Ryu's arm, and reveals that without treatment, the curse will rot his arm from the inside out and spread throughout his body, killing him. After defeating am attack helicopter, Ryu returns to the Yunagi, where he meets Mizuki's daughter Canna and Cliff Higgins, Mizuki's brother-in-law. Cliff reveals that the group they were fighting are called the Lords of Alchemy (LOA). Ryu departs for Abismo Island. There, he faces the Regent once again, and defeats the clone of a Gigantosaurus created by him. However, Ryu discovers that Mizuki has been captured. He rescues Mizuki, only for herr to knock him unconscious with a tranquilizer gun. Ryu awakens in a VR simulator, where he meets the alluring and sinister Lovelace. She demonstrates that in the simulator he can be hurt or killed, and Ryu is forced to go through with the simulation, taking him to places from his past, from the blimp to Vigoor, to the Sky City in Tokyo, to the Prime Minister's residence, where he squared off with a virtual Regent of the Mask. After escaping, Ryu fights his way through the LOA guards. Eventually he finds Canna and escapes with her to find her mother. They find Mizuki, held captive by the Regent. After the reunion, the Regent ruthlessly pushes Lovelace into a prototype God's Egg, and Ryu is forced to fight a mutated version of Lovelace. After defeating her altered form, Ryu escapes with Canna and Mizuki, only to be arrested by the U.S. military. The two are reprimanded by Captain Heinlern for their actions and are ordered to cease their operation immediately. Ryu travels via helicopter back to Hayabusa Village to find out how to remove the curse. First, Ryu revisits Genshin's grave where he placed the Blade of the Archfiend at the end of Ninja Gaiden II. He takes the blade and travels back to village, fighting hordes of vengeful Black Spider Ninja until the Grip of Murder begins to take its toll on him, causing him to lose consciousness. He awakens in the clan leader's residence, nursed to health by the Dragon Shrine Maiden, Momiji. Ryu and Momiji travel to the hermitage where his father Joe Hayabusa lives. On the way, they are attacked by the Black Spider Ninja as well as the Black Spider Clan sorceress Obaba, who somehow came back to life. After the battle, they make their way to Joe's house. Joe tells Ryu that the curse is karmic retribution for all the deeds committed by the Dragon Ninja Clan over the generations. Back on the Yunagi, Ryu is sent on an operation to Antarctica with Cliff requesting that he should be Ryu's backup. After defeating numerous foes there including an evil version of himself called the Epigonos, the Grip of Murder begins to activate. Cliff reveals himself as a member of the LOA, along with his grandfather Ashtear Higgins, the Chairman of LOA, who reveals that Cliff is the head of LOA's research and that he has plans for Canna. Soon after, Ryu attempts to chase down Cliff and Ashtear, but is left behind when he is knocked off their jet. Cliff tells Ryu that he would meet him on the Black Narwhal, a mysterious fleet thought to have been dismantled. Ryu is picked up by Ken Ishigami from the JSDF and transported to a UN vessel, where he is told that Canna is missing. Ryu and Mizuki fly over the Black Narwhal, and Ryu jumps off and proceeds to take down the escort ships before landing on the main ship itself. There he faces off with Ashtear and defeats him. Ryu learns of his plans for Canna just before killing him, and proceeds to search for her inside the ship. Eventually he would come face to face with the Regent of the Mask, watching as Canna is fused with the Egg of a God. Ryu defeats the Regent and is shocked to see that the man is actually Canna's father, Theodore Higgins, who was thought to be dead. Cliff appears and revealed that he killed his brother when he tried to stop his plan, but for the purpose of him dying at Ryu's hand, he brought him back from the dead, and erased his memories, while controlling him through an AI unit in the mask. Canna sees this and calls Ryu a murderer, merging with the Egg to become the Goddess, wielding the Dragon Sword as the Black Narwhal sinks into the ocean. Ryu, Mizuki and Ishigami pursue the Goddess to Tokyo where she left a trail of destruction. Ryu and Mizuki are attacked by Cliff, who has transformed into a mutant creature. Ryu and Mizuki are about to be killed when Theodore appears and kills Cliff, his memories fully restored. Ryu and Theodore continue their pursuit of the Goddess, but when they are about to reach her, Theodore suddenly betrays Ryu, stating that the Blade of the Archfiend Ryu uses will kill Canna indiscriminately as it is an evil blade. The two men battle for the final time. After Ryu kills him with the Blade of the Archfiend, Theodore chants an incantation and the curse on Ryu is removed. Ryu realizes that Theodore wants to die as atonement. Ryu confronts the Goddess. As the battle reaches its climax, the Blade of the Archfiend and the Goddess' giant Dragon Sword are broken to their hilts. Ryu's original Dragon Sword returns to him and he cuts the Goddess in half, killing it. Canna falls into Ryu's arms, safe and alive. Ryu leaves her in a safe area for Mizuki to find her. With his duty complete, he departs into the sunrise. 

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Betsey Brown is the story of an adolescent African-American girl growing up in 1959 St. Louis, Missouri, who is part of the first generation of students to be integrated in the public school system. She navigates common adolescent issues such as family dynamics, first love, and identity questions. 

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Akasha Gopuram is set among the Indian immigrant community in London and tells the story of Albert Samson (Mohanlal), a middle- aged architect who has clawed his way to prominence. His single-minded focus on his job, however, has hardened him and prevented him and his wife Alice (Swetha Menon) from having a meaningful family life. The costs of Samson's ambition are also symbolized in his assistant, Abraham Thomas (Bharat Gopy), Samson's own former employer whom he treated badly to reach the top. Thomas, now dying, wants his son Alex (Manoj K Jayan) to have more independence in the firm. Samson, however, fears that he will be eclipsed by a younger generation of architects, and refuses to allow Alex either to design original houses or to leave the firm and strike out on his own. Into this tense situation, enter Hilda Varghese (Nithya Menen), a vivacious young woman who idolized Samson ten years ago when, in the early stages of his career, he built a large church in her hometown and climbed to the top of its tower during its dedication ceremony. At that time Samson had promised "a kingdom" to Hilda, then a girl of twelve; now, Hilda who earnestly believes his word has come to collect her kingdom. As Samson struggles with the destructive consequences of his pursuit of glory and his growing fear that he has lost his creative powers, the mysterious Hilda helps him gain a glimpse of his former self. IFFI (2008) 

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Sentimientos Ajenos is the story of Sofía, a sweet young painter who falls in love with Renato with no idea that her love would release a tide of hatred from her own sister. Leonor will let nothing keep her from her goal of preventing their marriage and failing that, she tries a million ways to steal her sister's husband, something which sends their father to his grave. Up to her tricks, Leonor seduces an impetuous and passionate young man while masquerading as Sofia. When Renato discovers the supposed affair between his wife and Humberto, he bitterly throws her from the house. Confused and hurt, Sofia must fight to recover her life from the grasp of an enemy whom she would never expect. 

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Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is a police officer in Paris. His nonchalant behaviour upsets many of his subordinates and chiefs as much as it pleases the others. He often finds key clues in his dreams; yet this will be his undoing soon. Since before entering the police force, Adamsberg has been looking for a serial killer. That killer's modus operandi involves having a bystander being wrongly accused, which happened to Adamsberg's own brother, and some weapon with three blades, some sort of a trident, hence the Neptune reference. When the story begins, Adamsberg has found yet another murder he thinks is linked to the "Trident". Nobody believes him because the killer's crime spree is supposed to have lasted more than fifty years, culprits were always found, and Adamsberg's key suspect was buried ten years ago. Adamsberg's dreamlike reasoning sounds unlikely to most. Adamsberg has no choice but to attend a forensics seminar in Quebec, thus abandoning the case. While in Canada, he bonds with a French girl, who ultimately claims to be pregnant with his child. He then also learns that his previous love has a young child. Both blows lead him to get drunk for the first time in years. When he wakes up, he is covered in blood and his Canadian colleagues accuse him of murdering the girl with a three-bladed weapon. Female officer Retancourt, the most capable of his subordinates, understands he has been set up, and manages to sneak him back to France. There, as he is hiding in an old lady's house, a senior hacker helps him to track the Trident's various hiding places, thus proving that the suspect cannot be dead. Adamsberg finally manages to uncover the man's history, secret motives, and current location. But the Trident, who is a formidable man, threatens Adamsberg with commanding the death of his child and the latter's mother, if he does not confess to the Canadian murder and commit suicide. Adamsberg is about to comply when his subordinates intervene. Category:2004 French novels Category:Novels by Fred Vargas Category:French mystery novels 

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The film, set in 1966 New Jersey, is about a romance between an upper-middle-class Jewish girl named Jill Rosen (Arquette), who is bound for Sarah Lawrence College, and a blue-collar Italian boy nicknamed the Sheik (Spano), who aspires to follow in Frank Sinatra's footsteps. The movie follows their high school experiences during their romance: Jill's success in high school acting productions, Jill's rebuffing of Sheik's sexual advances, Sheik's one-night stand with a sexually active friend of Jill's and a subsequent suicide attempt by that friend. Eventually, Sheik is expelled from school, and after an attempted robbery and subsequent pursuit by local police, Sheik goes to Miami, Florida, while Jill subsequently leaves for her first year at Sarah Lawrence in the fall of 1967. At one point in her first year, Jill visits Sheik in Florida during spring break, and although she sees clearly how little he has going for him (he has found work in a nightclub washing dishes and, on weekends, lipsynching to Frank Sinatra recordings), she has sex with him. In the moments before they undress, their conversation turns to his odd nickname, which he had not explained to Jill when they dated in high school. "Sheik" is a brand of condoms, he explains--"like Trojans." Some time after Jill returns to college, Sheik arrives at work to find that he has been unceremoniously replaced by a real singer, albeit one with no great talent. This humiliation makes Sheik self-aware of his almost non-existent opportunities for career success in any endeavor, and in response, he steals a car and makes the long drive from Miami to New York, propelled by the romantic notion of reuniting with Jill. Jill's college experience has not been easy or happy: she has not met with the acting or social success she had in high school. Yet, the act of consummating her desire for Sheik has led her to realize that she does not love him, for having had sex with him has moved her past the point of romantic and sexual wonder, and left her seeing that they inhabit different social worlds. When Sheik arrives at Sarah Lawrence and does not find Jill, he violently trashes her room and waits for her return. When she does and he declares his love for her, she tells him that she does not love him. Sheik briefly resists her response and then, in a moment of quiet dignity, accepts it. Jill then reaches out to Sheik, and asks him as a favor—for them both, in a sense—if he will take her to a college dance, for which she has otherwise been unable to find a date. The movie ends with this dance, and this final scene also registers the quick change of pace in popular culture in the mid-1960s. In the midst of the dance, either Jill or Sheik (the film does not identify which one) requests that the band, incongruously, perform "Strangers in the Night", the Sinatra hit that had been a key part of their high school romance. The film finishes with them looking into each other's eyes and slow-dancing. 

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Gabriel Noone is a gay writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the homes of millions. Noone has recently separated from Jess, his partner of ten years. Noone's publisher sends him the galleys of a memoir apparently written by a 13-year-old boy, Peter Lomax. The author claims to have been the victim of sexual abuse and infected with HIV. According to his memoir, his father started beating him at two and raped him at four; his mother videotaped the "sessions". When he was eight years old, his parents started pimping him and selling videotapes. When Pete was age 11, he ran away with the pornographic tapes, and his parents were jailed. A psychologist named Donna Lomax took the boy in and eventually adopted him. Noone contacts the boy and they start exchanging a series of phone calls that develop into a kind of father/son relationship. He begins to suspect that Pete does not exist and that he and his memoir are fabrications by Donna. Even a visit to their home is inconclusive, and the novel ends with Gabriel feeling that the value of the relationship to him is more important than whether or not Pete is real. Subplots in the novel revolve around Gabriel's relationships with his lover and his father. Important themes are the nature of father/son relationships, the power struggle involved in caring for and being cared for by another, the embellishment of truth, and the secrets we keep even in the most intimate relationships. 

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Ras Tyger has lived in the jungle for as long as he can remember. Raised by apes, he lives an idyllic existence as the lord of the jungle, gleefully hunting prey and feeding his prodigious sexual appetite with various female denizens of his jungle. Eventually, however, Tyger begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. He sees strange giant birds, black and without movement aside from their spinning wings atop their heads. He sees other apes raising their young and ponders why his childhood was so different. Always receiving more questions than answers, the more Tyger explores his universe, the more it begins to deconstruct before his very eyes. Ultimately, Tyger discovers that his entire life is a fraud, a construct. A crazed millionaire named Boygur has, in an effort to reproduce the Tarzan novels he loved as a child, purchased a young English nobleman (Tyger) and created a complex series of jungle environs for him to live within. He hires two dwarfs to act as his ape parents, and has two huge black helicopters (Tyger's "giant birds") patrol the area to keep outsiders out, and insiders in. Ultimately, neither Tyger nor Boygur get what they desire. Tyger cannot handle the harshness of his newfound reality, and Boygur is shocked and appalled when the jungle superman he's raised is far from innocent. At the end of the book, Boygur sadly notes that "things went their own way." 

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The novel concerns the adventures of Eudoxus of Cyzicus and Hippalus on the first voyages by sea from Egypt to India. Following these, it deals with Eudoxus' efforts to circumvent the newly established Egyptian monopoly on trade with India by pioneering a new route around the west coast of Africa, which are ultimately defeated by misadventure and the sheer extent of the continent. 

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During a drug bust, LAPD patrolmen Dennis Peck and Van Stretch assault a dealer and his girlfriend. Outside, fellow patrolman Dorian Fletcher shoots a man running towards him, only to discover that he was unarmed. Peck plants a knife on the body to get the distraught Fletcher off the hook. Raymond Avilla joins the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division (IAD) and is assigned to investigate the drug bust with partner Amy Wallace. They learn that Stretch abuses drugs, has a history of excessive force, uses racist language even under formal IAD questioning, and may be corrupt. Stretch is also revealed to be abusive to his wife Penny, whom he suspects of infidelity, and has a subservient friendship with Peck. Avilla eventually begins to look into Peck, who is held up as an LAPD role model but whose lifestyle (including spousal support for three ex- wives and eight children) is hard to justify with a patrolman's salary alone. After an altercation with Peck, Fletcher agrees to help Avilla's investigation. It is gradually revealed to the audience that Peck not only has a widespread web of corruption based on extortion, favors to cops and criminals alike and complicit dealings with pimps, but also moonlights as a hitman. This latter facet is revealed when businessman Steven Arrocas offers Peck $15000 to kill his own parents and is met with an angry haggle for a higher sum. Avilla pressures Stretch to provide evidence against Peck in return for immunity from prosecution. Avilla's marriage to starts to wilt due to his increased obsession with the case, and Peck insinuates he will make advances on Avilla's wife, Kathleen. Stretch calls Penny and tells her that he will testify, unaware that Peck is having sex with her at that very moment. During a routine patrol in Huntington Park, Stretch is shot through the chest in a hit staged by Peck. Peck murders the gunman but the van used in the hit speeds away, indicating a witness to the crime. When Stretch is revealed to be alive, Peck strangles him but makes it look as though he's holding on to a dead friend when his partners arrive. Avilla and Wallace set up a sting to catch the witness, but two SWAT units arrive on the scene after the sting is leaked. Fletcher and the witness, Demetrio, are killed in the resulting shootout. As he dies in Avilla's arms, Demetrio identifies Peck as Stretch's killer. Aware that Avilla is tailing him, Peck meets Kathleen in a public place, posing as an IAD investigator and feigning worries about Avilla's wellbeing. This angers Avilla, who has an outburst at the office. He is taken off-guard in the elevator and beaten by Peck, who deceitfully boasts that he seduced and pleasured Kathleen with anal sex. Avilla then has a violent public confrontation with Kathleen, and goes on a drinking binge. The two make up the following morning when Kathleen convinces Avilla that she would have left him long before materializing any inclination to infidelity. As the IAD net tightens around Peck, they discover his wives' ample finances are handled by Penny Stretch. Van's widow refuses to cooperate with IAD but Wallace correctly guesses her affair with Peck. Breaking under pressure, Peck's wife tells Avilla and Wallace that two recent murder victims share the same surname as a Steven Arrocas who had contacted her husband. Meanwhile, Arrocas himself walks in on Peck having rough sex with his wife. Peck nonchalantly confirms that the contract killing of Arrocas' parents has been fulfilled and tries to goad Arrocas into killing his wife, but Arrocas shoots Peck in the foot instead. Avilla and Wallace show up shortly thereafter, finding the dead bodies of the Arrocases. Peck ambushes and shoots Wallace, badly wounding her, and flees. Avilla rushes home to find Peck holding Kathleen hostage. As he is beaten and shot in the leg by Avilla, Peck proudly boasts his ability to manipulate him and disingenuously ascribes his corruption and sociopathy to the need to provide for his extended offspring. Unwilling to go to prison, Peck pulls a knife out of his boot and lunges at Avilla, who shoots him dead. Avilla tries to comfort his terrorized wife. 

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Earth has been populated by thousands of aliens from all over the galaxy. While all the other aliens are aware of their presence, it is a secret only from the Earthlings. Baka, the prince of the planet Dogra, crash lands on Earth and loses his memory. He forcibly moves in with Yukitaka Tsutsui, a first year high school student who had just moved out on his own. The normal life he once knew is quickly pulled away as he becomes the target of the prince's torment. 

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Somebody Help Me is the story of Brendan Young (Marques Houston) and Darryl Jennings (Omarion Grandberry) as they head off with their girlfriends, respectively Serena (Brooklyn Sudano) and Kimmy (Alexis Fields), and friends for a weekend's stay at a remote cabin in the woods. After the couples settle in, things take an eerie turn. One by one, the group ends up missing or dead, while the remaining few are forced to band together to figure out who or what is behind these killings. The murderer kills his victims by slicing off parts of their body. The killings in order include: Barbara (Jessica Friedman) having part of her head sliced, Andrea (Amanda Lee) having her entire scalp ripped off, Mike (Garristone Koch), Barbara's boyfriend having his eyes and fingernails ripped out, the sheriff having his throat slit, and Ken (Luke Fryden), Andrea's boyfriend having his teeth ripped out then being smothered to death. Nicole (Jessica Szohr) dies from an asthma attack when the man did not give her an inhaler. The killer's daughter, Daisy (Brittany Oaks), is singing "Ring around the Rosie" throughout the movie, and helps Brendan free the others in the end. Three of the teenagers end up dead, and Olsen came in time to save Brendan and free Serena, Darryl, Kimmy and Nicole's boyfriend, Seth (Christopher Jones). The last scene is the murderer and Daisy having their car searched and the policeman letting him go as Daisy sings "Ring Around The Rosie" again. 

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Andrew Norris is the new music teacher at a troubled inner city school. As he arrives on his first day, he meets fellow teacher Terry Corrigan, who is carrying a gun. When Andrew asks about the firearm, Terry assures him he will learn why the protection is necessary. When they enter the school, Andrew is shocked to see everyone scanned by metal detectors and frisked. He spots a student with a knife, but the security guards let the kid go because they are so overworked. The halls of the school are covered with graffiti. Andrew learns he is expected to patrol the halls as a security guard during his off periods. In his first class, a group of five disruptive students are roughhousing and causing trouble. The leader of the gang is Peter Stegman, the only member of the group who is actually registered in that class. They all eventually walk out, and Andrew discovers the rest of the students actually want to learn, especially Arthur, who plays the trumpet, and Deneen, who plays the clarinet. As Andrew gets to know the school and the area, he decides that he wants to put together an orchestra with his more advanced students. Peter's gang sells drugs and cause all kinds of mayhem. They follow Andrew home and taunt him one night. At school, Andrew is confronted with more and more evidence of Peter's crimes. The two grow increasingly at odds. Eventually, after Peter kills Terry's animals in his lab, Andrew and Peter wind up in a bathroom alone together. Peter throws himself into a mirror and beats himself, claiming that Andrew attacked him. Trying to clear things up, Andrew visits Peter's mother at home. Frustrated when Peter still plays the victim and his mother will not hear Andrew out, he hotwires Peter's car and drives it into a wall. During lunch, the gang starts a "food fight" and forces their friend Vinnie to stab Arthur, which he does so and causes him to be sent to a hospital. Vinnie is arrested and held in a youth detention center. Terry is driven insane after the incident with the animals in his lab and is killed after crashing his car when trying to kill Peter and the others. Andrew's orchestra is about to give its first concert. As his wife Diane gets ready at home, Peter's gang breaks into the house and gang-rapes her. One of them takes a Polaroid of her being raped and has it delivered to Andrew on the podium, just as he is about to start the concert. Horrified by the photo, he runs off the podium in pursuit of Peter's gang. Andrew and the gang chase each other through the school. Andrew kills them off one by one, and finally confronts Peter on the roof. Their last scuffle ends with Peter falling through a skylight and getting strangled to death in the ropes above the stage. His corpse falls into full view of the audience. Andrew is never charged because the police could not find a witness to the crime. 

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In July 1936, in a vast desert in Arizona, after the first take of director D.W. DeWitt's film, Exeunt Omnes, the assistant director, Louise Goldman introduces herself to the cast of 3400 extras and explains the details of the film production and how they will play their part. Meanwhile, former high school band musician Phil Bennet finds his younger brother Benny and tries to bring him home, but Benny tells Phil that he dreams of becoming a movie star. Phil then gets over it and tries to leave, only to be told that once a person arrives, they cannot leave until filming is completed, forcing Phil to join Benny in the cast and is ranked a Three, while Benny is Four. A month passes, and the film is in poor shape. One night, Phil decides to help Louise with adjusting the scenes. Impressed with Phil's ideas, Louise gives him a casting role, and the two begin a romantic relationship. When Benny discovers Phil's promotion, he gets very jealous of being a Four and expresses his misery of the film's dark scenes and his distance from home, but Phil assures him that he will do fine. The next day, the crew begins shooting the "Queen of the Nile" scene, with Benny as the Queen's slave and Phil as the executioner. However, Louise is forced to do it alone, as DeWitt will not come out of the pyramid until shooting is done, though still seemingly involved in the project, as announced by the strict head assistant Jack Kramer, who chastised Phil earlier for trying to leave in the midst of production, and also because he and Shel, another assistant, have to shoot the "Burning Bush" scene. After three takes of the Queen scene, having the third be the most successful and after Phil congratulates Benny for his performance, a devastated Shel arrives and announces that Jack was accidentally burned to death. Phil, Benny and Louise enter the pyramid and ask DeWitt to come out and help, only to find out that DeWitt had quit the project; when DeWitt saw Benny trying his hardest in his parts, he got very emotional and decided to end his career. Phil is then offered to become the head assistant to replace Jack. Overjoyed to have full ownership of the movie, Phil accepts the offer. Phil gives Benny and Louise the main roles, Benny as Prince Ramadidis, and Louise as Princess Isis, who is in love in the movie. One night, when Phil fails to show up to a surprise birthday party Louise threw for him, despite his promise that he would, she feels betrayed. Benny comforts Louise, and the two find real love for each other, and ultimately begin an affair, unbeknownst to Phil. A few days pass, and Phil almost catches Louise cheating. Benny and Louise begin to have second thoughts about their relationship, but at the same time, they can't help it. The next day, the crew begins working on the film's climax, where the slave is forced to prove his worth for the princess by fighting gladiators. When Benny and Louise start kissing for part of the scene, Phil discovers their relationship. He tries to apologize to Louise, but she assures him that Benny is a better man. Enraged, Phil removes them from the picture and ranks Benny a Five. The cast starts to show hatred for Phil when he says that they will change the whole movie, as they have already spent too much time away from civilization and that Phil is a horrible person for the way he treated Louise, but Phil encourages them to keep going, as the movie is "about us." Louise tries to escape with Benny, only to be kidnapped by Phil. Benny and Phil then engage in a swordfight until DeWitt comes out of the pyramid. DeWitt then tells everyone, including Benny, Phil, and Louise that their actions would not be helpful to themselves or anyone else in life. DeWitt then finally agrees to let his people go, and Benny, who plans to marry Louise, and have Phil be the best man, leads everybody across the desert, resembling the film's title, Exeunt Omnes, Latin for "Everybody Out!" 

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Sean Porter (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) works at Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles. He becomes frustrated at not being able to help the kids get away from their problems in life when they are released from the center, such as street gangs and drug dealings. He decides to create a football team so the kids can feel like they're part of something. Porter believes that football will teach the teenage inmates what it takes to be responsible, mature, and disciplined winners. He picks out a few kids in the room that he feels will benefit from this program and requires that they practice with him the following day. He states to his new team, the Kilpatrick Mustangs, "You do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here and you're here because you lost. Right now you are all losers, but if you accept this challenge and stick with the program, you are all going to be winners at the end." Two of the teens do not get along because they are from rival gangs. William "Willie" Weathers (Jade Yorker) is from the 88's and Kelvin Owens (David Thomas) is from the 95's. The first game is against one of the best teams in the league, Barrington Panthers. The game starts out somewhat positive for the Mustangs, as they recover a fumble on the first drive, but things quickly turn. They are demolished by Barrington, losing by 38 points. After starting 0–2, the Mustangs start winning games as they learn to work together. Kelvin and Willie finally shake hands when they win a game by one touchdown after Kelvin makes a big block for Willie. Near the end of the season, the Mustangs are headed for the playoffs. They are getting more publicity and more fans along the way. One of Willie's 88 gang mates, Free, stops by the field. He realizes that Kelvin is a 95. Free and Kelvin get into a fight, and Free shoots Kelvin in the shoulder. As Free prepares to put another bullet in Kelvin's head, Willie runs toward Free and tackles him to the ground to save Kelvin. Free is shocked that Willie helped Kelvin and not him. The police show up, and Free runs off. He fires at the responding officers who fire in return, killing him. Although Kelvin survives the attack, he will not be able to play in the finals. Kilpatrick is almost forced to forfeit the playoff game due to concerns about further gang violence, but Porter's boss steps in to prevent it by arranging for volunteers from neighboring police departments to patrol the game. The County Sheriff's spokesperson states that "We will do whatever it takes to ensure that gangs do not take over the lives of our youth". In the playoff game, a rematch against Barrington, the Mustangs go into the half down 14–0. Willie gives a motivational speech, and they go out and beat Barrington on the last play of the game. It is revealed in the narration that they lost the championship game 17–14, but no one called them losers. A few months later, Sean's football method is officially made part of the program. Nearly all the former members of the Mustangs are doing well in their new lives outside the detention center. Willie Weathers is playing football at a top boarding school, Kelvin Owens is playing football for Washington High, Kenny Bates is going to school in Redondo Beach and living with his mother, Junior Palaita got a job working for a furniture company, Leon Hayes is playing football for Dorsey High, Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs and are now in California youth authority prisons. Bug Wendal was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton, California. Only five of the players are back in jail. The movie ends with a new group of Mustangs training for the next season. Some footage of the 1993 Gridiron Gang documentary is shown during the end credits. 

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The Arrangement is the first-person story of Evangelos Arness, aka Evans Arness, aka Eddie Anderson, a second-generation Greek-American World War II veteran, a son of an Anatolian rug merchant who went broke after the 1929 Depression. He has come to use the name "Eddie Anderson" in his career as a self-loathing advertising executive and the name "Evans Arness" in his second career as a muck-raking magazine reporter, the career in which he ostensibly takes pride (Lincoln Steffens is his role model). His personal life is just as duplicitous: to outsiders he is happily married but is in fact a compulsive adulterer with his wife Florence's "don't ask – don't tell" tacit approval, one aspect of the titular "arrangement". His serial adultery ends when he begins a liaison with a female assistant at his advertising firm, Gwen Hunt, whose independent mind fascinates him; he becomes obsessed with her, perhaps even feeling true love towards her. He fails to lock a drawer with their nude photographs, perhaps subsconsciously wanting to be found out; a prying maid discovers them and shows them to Florence (and before that, it turns out, to their adopted daughter, now a university student). Florence persuades him to leave Gwen and to re-invigorate their life with a self-improvement regimen; both seem perfectly content though somewhat dull but after several months he crashes his car in an apparent suicide attempt. The rest of the novel deals with his inability to return to his old role as he attempts to find a new life in which he can be who he authentically is rather than who others desire him to be or whom he has sold people on his being. He has to return to New York City, where he left his parents and brother after college, to deal with his father's dying. After several false starts, in which the newly "authentic" Eddie is arrested for indecent exposure, burns down his parents' house, a symbol of his father's tyranny over the family, is later shot by Gwen's jealous suitor, and is subsequently committed to a mental hospital, Eddie settles down with Gwen in Connecticut as a liquor dealer and starts to write short stories. 

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The book begins in AD 70 in Jerusalem during the siege of the city by the Romans just prior to the destruction of the Second Temple. Abraham, a Jewish scribe, his wife and two sons live in Jerusalem and have survived the siege. On the day when the Romans breach the city walls and set fire to the Second Temple, Abraham and his family successfully escape Jerusalem only to be stopped by a Roman platoon. The Roman soldiers incapacitate Abraham and rape and murder his wife. Abraham and his sons are later freed, but he is forced to surrender his scrolls to a Roman commander. At this point, Abraham begins a scroll that documents his family's journeys (the so-called "Book of Abraham", around which the story revolves) and lists his sons and their descendants. Each successive generation after Abraham dies adds on to the Book of Abraham, which continues to the point when the original scroll is lost and to the end of the book when Marek Halter's grandfather dies during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. From Jerusalem, the family moves, over the course of nearly 2000 years, to cities such as Carthage, Hippo, Rome, Toledo, Cordoba, Narbonne, Troyes, Strasbourg, Constantinople, Amsterdam, Lublin, Odessa, and Warsaw. In both the fictional and factual parts of the book, the story coincides with many notable historical events, including the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Islamic conquests, the Inquisition, the Black Plague, the French Revolution, and World War II, as well as telling the story from the point of view of the Jews during the early to late Middle Ages, Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, and the early Twentieth century (i.e., showing the segregation and hardships faced by the Jews after their expulsion from Palestine). 

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Wealthy ad man Eddie Anderson makes a suicide attempt in his car. He is contemptuous of life and its "arrangements." His long marriage to Florence is now devoid of passion, and he has become the lover of Gwen, a research assistant at his Los Angeles advertising agency. He descends into a long depression and silence, often conjuring up memories or hallucinations of Gwen. A psychiatrist, Dr. Leibman, eventually listens to stories of Eddie's nightmares and general discontent with life. Eddie returns to work, where he insults a valued client. He pilots a small plane about L.A. and buzzes its skyscrapers recklessly, causing the police to be called. His mental stability is now seriously in doubt. His wife also sees compromising photographs of Eddie and Gwen. Arthur, his lawyer, gives wife Florence power of attorney as Eddie travels to New York to visit Sam Arness, his ill father. The father is so sick that Eddie's brother and sister-in-law want him placed in an institution. Gwen is also in New York now, living with a man named Charles and telling Eddie of many other affairs that she has had. She has a baby that she claims is not Eddie's (but it is strongly implied she's lying). A delusional Eddie begins to have conversations with his alter ego. Arthur brings papers for him to sign, turning over all of his community property to Florence, but she tells him not to sign them, and it turns out he signed someone else's name. Florence and Eddie have a long intense conversation, in which Eddie says he just wants to do nothing for a while—Florence simply can't understand this, and says he's insane. He sets fire to his father's house and comes to Gwen's apartment, where Charles shoots him—after this, Eddie is committed to a psychiatric hospital, but can release himself at any time, simply by proving he's got a job and a home to go to. Eddie seems to feel contentment in his solitude at the asylum, but Gwen brings the baby to see him, and manages to lure him outside to try again, saying she's got a job for him. At his father's funeral, Florence and Gwen are both there and see each other for the first time, and Florence seems to grudgingly accept the relationship between Eddie and Gwen as the only way Eddie can be saved from himself. 

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